Bus Drivers' COVID-19 Special Support Fund to Be Distributed by the End of This Month

Support of 1 Million Won Each for 86,300 Route and Charter Bus Drivers

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 3rd that it plans to start distributing the special support fund for bus drivers responding to COVID-19, which was allocated through the first supplementary budget of this year, from the end of this month.

Detailed information such as the selection criteria for support recipients and application methods will be simultaneously announced on the websites of local governments on the 4th.

Bus drivers of non-public route buses and charter buses who have worked for more than 60 days (since before January 3) as of the announcement date and can prove income reduction due to COVID-19 will be eligible to receive 1 million KRW per person. The total number of eligible recipients is 81,300, including 51,300 route bus drivers and 35,000 charter bus drivers.

Considering the difficulties faced by bus drivers, the government is reviewing an additional support plan of 500,000 KRW per person on top of the 1 million KRW support included in the supplementary budget.

Eligible bus drivers can fill out the application form and submit it directly to the relevant local government or through their company from the 14th to the 18th. Applicants must prepare documents proving their employment period (60 days) and income reduction when applying.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will verify eligibility after the application deadline, finalize the list of recipients, and actively cooperate with local governments to ensure that the support funds are distributed sequentially starting from the end of March.

Yoon Jin-hwan, Director General of Comprehensive Transportation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause hardships for bus drivers, we will work together with local governments to distribute the support funds as quickly as possible to ensure the stable provision of bus services, a representative public transportation means."

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