Gyeonggi-do to Provide 210,000 Won Youth Interview Allowance... First Nationwide

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung's 'Youth Interview Allowance' will be implemented nationwide for the first time.

Gyeonggi Province announced that as one of Governor Lee Jae-myung's representative youth policies, it will provide up to 210,000 KRW (35,000 KRW per interview, up to 6 times) to unemployed youth residing in the province who participate in interviews to actively support their job-seeking activities. Applications began on the 1st of this month.

The province especially reflected the social situation where job-seeking activities have been difficult due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic by expanding the eligible age from 34 to 39 years old. Additionally, the work hour requirement was relaxed from 36 hours per week to 30 hours.

Eligible applicants are ▲ residents of the province aged 18 to 39 as of the application date ▲ unemployed as of the interview date ▲ youth seeking jobs with the possibility of regular work of 30 hours or more per week.

The province decided that jobs without an employment relationship (such as freelancers) and special employment types that allow regular work even if under 30 hours per week will have their eligibility determined through a separate review. However, those receiving overlapping support payments (such as unemployment benefits or youth job-seeking activity support funds) are excluded from eligibility.

Applications can be submitted online from the 1st of this month until the 31st of next month through the Gyeonggi Job Foundation platform 'Jobaba' (http://thankyou.jobaba.net).

Afterward, through document review processes such as interview verification and overlapping payment checks, the allowance will be paid in local currency within 60 days from the application date.

For more details, inquiries can be made to the dedicated Youth Interview Allowance call center at 1877-2046.

Kim Kyung-hwan, Director of the Youth Welfare Policy Division of the province, stated, "We expect this interview allowance to somewhat alleviate the economic burden that young job seekers face during their job search process and help spread a healthy culture of paying interview fees in many private companies."

Previously, in September last year, Gyeonggi Province recommended 25 affiliated public institutions to pay interview fees to applicants regardless of job category.