Busan City Launches Full-Scale 'Hope Employment Retention Support Project'

Local Small and Medium Enterprises Maintain and Expand Employment for One Year from January 1

Online Application at Busan Employers Federation Website from March 14 to 29

Busan City will actively promote the 'Busan Hope Employment Retention Support Project' to ensure employment stability for workers and management stability for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Busan Hope Employment Retention Support Project Guide.

This project supports local SMEs that sign an 'Employment Retention Win-Win Agreement' and maintain or expand employment for one year from January 1 of this year by providing up to 9 million KRW in employer contributions for the four major social insurances (up to 300,000 KRW per person for up to 30 employees).

In addition to providing financial support, the project also offers assistance such as linking government support programs through the Enterprise Management Council and job placement services.

Starting in 2021, this project is now in its fourth year and has supported employment retention and expansion for over 12,000 companies and approximately 18,800 employees through last year.

Eligible applicants include SMEs with five or more regular employees located in Busan, specifically manufacturing SMEs situated in industrial complexes or companies participating in the Busan regional specialized project (Legend 50+), provided they meet the application requirements.

Detailed eligibility criteria and other information can be found in the recruitment announcement posted on the Busan Employers Federation website.

The regional specialized project Legend 50+ is a policy to foster regional SMEs by having metropolitan local governments plan projects that leverage unique local characteristics and strengths, with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups consolidating policy measures to provide focused support over three years.

The application period is from the 14th to March 29th, and applications can be submitted online through the Busan Employers Federation website.

Final selection of participating companies will be made through a selection committee, and the final support amount per employed person may be adjusted depending on the scale of applications and budget conditions.

The city will verify the employment retention status of participating companies monthly and disburse support funds twice a year (in June and December). Companies that violate the employment retention agreement will lose eligibility to participate and will be required to return the support funds.

Shin Chang-ho, Director of the Digital Economy Innovation Office of Busan City, stated, “In the midst of domestic and international economic crises, where SMEs are facing increasing difficulties, we hope this project will provide some help in stabilizing employment for workers and management for companies.”

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