Increase Hiring for 60+ Age Group with 300,000 KRW Quarterly... Parental Leave Allowance Up to 15 Million KRW for 3 Months (Comprehensive)

46th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting
Legislative Notice of Subordinate Regulations Amendment to the Employment Insurance Act

Encouraging Employment of Seniors Aged 60 and Over and Promoting Parental Leave for Couples with Children Under 12 Months

Strengthening Employment Safety Net for Platform Workers Including Riders
Accelerating Abolition of 'Exclusivity' Requirement for Industrial Accident Insurance Enrollment

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki delivering opening remarks at the 46th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government is introducing an employment incentive of up to 2.4 million KRW per worker for elderly employment to encourage the 'employment extension' effect for workers aged 60 and over. The employment incentive will provide employers with up to 2.4 million KRW per year for two years for the increased number of workers aged 60 and above compared to the previous three years. Along with this, the government has announced a legislative notice to revise the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act to establish a ‘Parental Childcare Leave System’ to encourage childcare leave for parents with children under 12 months old, providing up to 15 million KRW during the first three months after childbirth.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki chaired the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the 30th and stated, "To actively respond to the large-scale retirement of the baby boomer generation aged 60 and over, which has become a reality since last year, we will promote elderly employment activation and productivity enhancement support," adding, "We will introduce additional hiring incentives and labor transition support funds."

The additional hiring incentive will be paid quarterly at 300,000 KRW per person for up to two years, starting next year, to small and medium-sized enterprise employers who increase the employment of workers aged 60 and above compared to the previous three years. According to the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act, those eligible for the continuous support incentive cannot receive the additional hiring incentive. The continuous support incentive is a policy that supports medium-sized enterprises and others with 900,000 KRW quarterly per worker for up to two years when they continue to employ workers who have passed the retirement age.

Additionally, the government plans to introduce a ‘Labor Transition Support Fund’ of 3 million KRW per worker for employers who provide job transition and reemployment support services to workers in industries facing crises due to low-carbon and digital transitions, such as coal-fired power generation and automobiles. The support target is a total of 2,300 people, with a related budget of 5.1 billion KRW allocated.

The government is also promoting the subscription of industrial accident insurance for up to 730,000 special employment workers (teukso gong-yongjik). To this end, it plans to propose a revision to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act in the second half of the year to abolish the exclusivity requirement that platform workers are tied to a specific workplace. Currently, under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, workers must meet the exclusivity condition to subscribe to industrial accident insurance, but the government intends to remove this condition. A government official explained, "Rather than inducing individual workers to meet exclusivity, abolishing the exclusivity regulation when workers subscribe to industrial accident insurance is more realistic and efficient in narrowing the blind spots of industrial accident insurance."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong also stated, "We will further strengthen the social safety net by including platform workers under the scope of the ‘Framework Act on the Welfare of Workers,’" meaning that platform workers will receive benefits such as livelihood stabilization loans and credit guarantee support similar to those provided to ‘workers’ under the law.

Separately, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced a legislative notice to revise the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act to increase childcare leave benefits for couples with children under 12 months old. The childcare leave system allows workers with children aged 8 or younger or in the second grade of elementary school or below to apply for childcare leave, which employers grant for up to one year. The revision aims to strengthen support measures so that parents with young children under 12 months old use childcare leave as much as possible.

Accordingly, when both parents take childcare leave, the childcare leave pay for the first three months, previously paid at 80% of the ordinary wage, will be increased to 100%, providing a combined maximum of 15 million KRW for the couple during the first three months after the child's birth. The pay for the following nine months, from 4 to 12 months after birth, will also be increased from 50% to 80% of the ordinary wage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.