Gyeonggi-do to Provide 4.8 Million KRW 'Earned Income Tax Credit' Over 2 Years to Young Workers in SMEs

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will provide up to 4.8 million KRW in earned income tax credits to young workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over two years.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 1st that it will recruit 4,500 participants for the first round of the "Support Project for Young Workers in SMEs" from the 2nd to the 16th of this month.

The support targets are young residents of Gyeonggi Province aged 18 to 34 who work at least 36 hours per week at SMEs within the province and earn a monthly salary of 2.9 million KRW or less.

Selected youths will receive earned income tax credits of 600,000 KRW quarterly, up to a maximum of 4.8 million KRW over two years, paid in local currency.

Applications can be submitted online through the Young Workers Support Project website.

Applicants will be selected based on the lowest monthly salary (health insurance premium), and in the case of ties, factors such as length of service and duration of residence in Gyeonggi Province will be considered for the final decision.

Since last year, considering the difficult working conditions of young workers due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the province expanded the eligible industries from only small and medium manufacturing to all SMEs and removed restrictions on supporting youths working at small businesses with fewer than five employees. For youths who have completed their military service, the application age limit has been extended by the duration of their military service.

Kim Sun-hwa, Director of the Youth Welfare Policy Division of the province, emphasized, "The Support Project for Young Workers in SMEs aims to encourage long-term employment by improving the working conditions of young workers employed in relatively disadvantaged SMEs. We will strive to broadly support young workers in SMEs so that this project resonates with the youth."

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