'Up to 11.4 Million KRW Per Person' Youth Digital Job Program Supports 156,000 People... 60.1% Regular Employment

Temporary Implementation from July 2020 to January 2021 for 1 Year and 6 Months
74% of Workers Including Non-Regular Employees Worked for More Than 6 Months

Youth Hired in December Last Year Supported Until August This Year
Youth Newly Hired This Year Starting from the 20th
'Up to 9.6 Million KRW' Youth Job Leap Incentive Replaced

Second Half Fraudulent Receipt Inspection... 83 Suspicious Cases Detected
Return Order of 620 Million KRW and Sanctions Including 2.57 Billion KRW Penalties Imposed

Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Youth Digital Job Project, which supports companies hiring young people in the information technology (IT) sector with up to 11.4 million KRW per person for a maximum of six months, had 156,000 eligible participants and a regular employment conversion rate of 60.1%. The government stated that since 74% (115,000 people) worked for more than six months, this is a meaningful achievement considering the project is temporary.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor summarized the project results over one and a half years from July 2020 to the end of last year and announced them on the 12th. The project is considered a representative IT employment promotion policy alongside digital job support policies such as K-Digital Training. According to the ministry, during the project period, 42,000 companies were supported, providing job opportunities to 156,000 young people.

According to the ministry, among the 156,000 hired youths, 95,000 (60.1%) were hired or converted to regular positions. 116,000 (74%) worked for more than six months. The figures include youths gaining work experience for the first time through the project, existing regular employees, and those with labor contracts of three months or more, indicating a high purity of data, according to the ministry. Participating companies also welcomed the reduction in labor cost burdens, the ministry conveyed.

However, some cases of fraudulent claims by companies occurred, prompting the ministry to operate a "Second Half Fraudulent Claims Intensive Inspection Period" from September 27 to November 30 last year. They investigated 2,991 companies and detected 83 suspicious cases in 77 companies. Among these, 16 cases were confirmed as fraudulent claims, and the ministry ordered the return of 540 million KRW and imposed penalties totaling 2.57 billion KRW. For nine cases of undue gains such as mistaken payments, return orders of 800 million KRW were issued. The remaining 57 cases are under investigation. The ministry plans to take strict measures, including criminal prosecution if necessary, in addition to return orders and penalties. Anyone aware of fraudulent claims related to the project can report them through the ministry’s website’s "Fraudulent Claims Continuous Reporting System."

Meanwhile, the ministry plans to operate an intensive inspection period for fraudulent claims in the first half of this year as well. Support payments will be made until August for youths hired in December last year. Although the project ends this year, a new policy called "Youth Job Leap Incentive" will be implemented from the 20th for youths newly hired this year. For companies with five or more priority support employees who hire youths facing employment difficulties as regular workers and employ them for more than six months, up to 9.6 million KRW per person will be paid for up to one year. Compared to the previous project, the maximum support amount is reduced, but the payment period and scope (including non-IT jobs) are expanded.

Kwon Chang-jun, Director of Youth Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "Through this project, many young people have had valuable opportunities to work and gain job experience in the IT field," and emphasized, "We will strictly take action without exception against cases of fraudulent receipt to ensure government support funds are used where truly needed."

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