'If Sick, You Can Rest'?60% of Minimum Wage Paid Through Sick Leave Benefits

Pilot Project to be Conducted for One Year from the 4th of Next Month in Six Locations Including Jongno, Seoul; Bucheon, Gyeonggi; Cheonan, Chungnam; Suncheon, Jeonnam; Pohang, Gyeongbuk; and Changwon, Gyeongnam

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government announced that a pilot project for sickness benefits, which pays 60% of the minimum wage to allow workers to take leave when ill with infectious diseases, will be implemented for one year starting from the 4th of next month.

On the 15th, Lee Sang-min, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated in the CDSCH meeting opening remarks, "The government plans to launch a pilot project for sickness benefits early next month to enable workers to take leave when sick for infection prevention and timely treatment," adding, "In six pilot areas including Jongno in Seoul, we plan to pay 60% of the minimum wage to eligible recipients during periods when work is difficult."

The pilot project will be conducted in six locations: Jongno in Seoul, Bucheon in Gyeonggi Province, Cheonan in Chungnam Province, Suncheon in Jeonnam Province, Pohang in Gyeongbuk Province, and Changwon in Gyeongnam Province. Lee explained, "According to a 2021 survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, only about 46% of workers use paid sick leave," and added, "Experiencing a pandemic like COVID-19 has made it important to create social conditions where people can take leave when sick." He further stated, "We will make multifaceted efforts not only to provide income support but also to improve employment relations and foster a social atmosphere."

He also mentioned that thorough quarantine management will be ensured for the local government level 9 civil service examination held on the 18th. The government plans to select about 22,000 candidates in this exam. Lee said, "The government has prepared flawless quarantine management measures so that examinees can take the exam with peace of mind," adding, "Confirmed cases will take the exam at separate test centers, and examinees with symptoms such as fever on the exam day will be allowed to take the exam in a reserved room at the test site. Additionally, general examinees will maintain certain distances and use partitions to ensure a safe testing environment."

Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 quarantine situation stabilizes, the weekly risk level has remained at 'low' for four consecutive weeks. The number of new confirmed cases was about 9,400, the lowest in 21 weeks for a Wednesday. The number of critically ill patients remained in the 90s for four consecutive days, and the number of deaths stayed in single digits for two days. The infection reproduction number was 0.79, marking 11 consecutive weeks below 1.

Lee explained, "We have been monitoring the epidemic situation for the past four weeks and, based on expert opinions and overseas cases, we plan to prepare criteria for changing isolation obligations and report on whether to lift isolation requirements at the CDSCH meeting on the 17th."

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