90% Support for Temporary Closure Allowance Extended for 3 Months... Ministry of Employment's Supplementary Budget Increased by 580 Billion Won

7 Trillion-Won Supplementary Budget Under Ministry of Employment Passed by National Assembly... 3.4 Trillion Won for Job-Seeker Benefits
60,000 Youth Digital Jobs, 50,000 Youth Work Experience Positions Created
"Korean New Deal Promotion" Digital and New Technology Talent Development... Strengthening Accident Prevention

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The third supplementary budget (supplementary budget) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which passed the National Assembly, was increased by about 580 billion won compared to the original government proposal. The increased budget will be used for employment retention subsidies that support 90% of leave and suspension allowances, expansion of youth digital jobs, and more.

According to the government on the 4th, the size of the third supplementary budget under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which was approved at the plenary session of the National Assembly the day before, is 7.0118 trillion won, an increase of 578.1 billion won compared to the original government proposal submitted to the National Assembly.

The approximately 7 trillion won supplementary budget for the Ministry of Employment and Labor will be used for ▲ employment retention of current workers ▲ livelihood and reemployment support for vulnerable groups such as the unemployed ▲ direct job creation for youth and others ▲ support for the Korean New Deal such as digital talent development ▲ strengthening accident prevention at high-risk sites.

Expansion of Employment Retention Budget... Supporting 490,000 Job Seekers with Supplementary Budget

First, the employment retention subsidy budget increased by 516.8 billion won compared to the original government proposal (850 billion won) after review by the National Assembly. This is because the support level for leave and suspension allowances for small and medium-sized enterprises was expanded from 75% to 90%, and the measure was extended by three months from the end of June to the end of September. This is also included in the agreement of the tripartite representative meeting to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. The number of supported people increased by 870,000, allowing employment retention subsidies to be paid to a total of 1.37 million workers.

952 billion won was allocated to the employment retention fund loan project for workplaces that do not even have the capacity to pay leave allowances. The method is to advance leave allowances using loans and then repay the loan with employment retention subsidies.

350 billion won of the supplementary budget will be used for employment stability agreement subsidies. If labor and management reach an agreement to maintain employment and maintain employment for a certain period, up to 50% of the wage reduction for up to six months will be supported.

Unemployment benefit applicants are receiving explanations from officials at the Seoul Employment Welfare Plus Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The emergency employment stabilization subsidy budget passed the National Assembly at the same 570 billion won as the government proposal. This project supports 1.5 million won to special-type workers, freelancers, and small business owners whose income and sales have decreased due to COVID-19.

The job-seeking allowance budget of 3.3938 trillion won for livelihood preservation of the unemployed was also processed as is. This is a scale that can support an additional 490,000 people.

In addition, 100 billion won was reflected for worker livelihood stabilization fund loans, and 3.5 billion won for long-term unemployed livelihood stabilization funds. The supplementary budget also includes projects that provide additional vocational training support (153.3 billion won) to 120,000 unemployed and unpaid leave workers, and expand the target of livelihood loan support during training periods to unpaid leave workers and special types (96.3 billion won).

Youth Digital Jobs and Work Experience Support... "Project to Start This Month"

A direct job project that supports labor costs for youth and others who are having difficulty finding employment due to the impact of COVID-19 was also prepared. The youth job project is largely divided into digital jobs (561.1 billion won) and work experience support (235.2 billion won). Digital jobs are a project that supports labor costs for six months to small and medium-sized enterprises that hire youth for IT jobs such as content planning and big data utilization. During the National Assembly review process, the number of supported people increased by 10,000 from the original government proposal (50,000), supporting a total of 60,000 people.

Work experience support is a project that supports labor costs (up to 800,000 won per month) for six months to small and medium-sized enterprises that hire youth for short-term work experience opportunities. It targets 50,000 youth. Companies participating in the youth job project can submit recruitment plans through a dedicated website. The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to implement the project within this month after public recruitment and selection of operating institutions, project briefings, and establishment of a computer network starting from the 6th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

To promote employment of the unemployed who have difficulty finding jobs due to deteriorating employment conditions, a new recruitment subsidy of 247.3 billion won for small and medium-sized enterprises was established. It supports up to 800,000 to 1 million won per month per hired worker for six months. Separate job projects for industrial safety (30.2 billion won, 2,250 people) and social economy (11.2 billion won, 1,700 people) big data construction are also conducted.

In addition, the Ministry of Employment and Labor is taking steps to nurture digital and new technology talents for the Korean New Deal. 6.8 billion won was allocated to a project to train 400 talents in digital and new technology fields at innovative training institutions and major universities. Specifically, it is divided into ▲ training leaders of the 4th Industrial Revolution (3.4 billion won, 200 people) ▲ company-customized national key and strategic industry job training (3.4 billion won, 200 people).

Also, 1.5 billion won will be invested to expand the server of the online training platform (STEP), and 5.3 billion won to support leasing of private LMS (online training management system), expanding remote training infrastructure.

The supplementary budget also includes funds for preventing fire and explosion accidents at industrial sites. 71.2 billion won will be invested to support installation costs of fire and explosion prevention facilities such as vapor ventilation fans and combustible gas detectors at 22,000 small construction sites and others. 3.1 billion won will be used to hire 200 safety keepers who inspect accident-prone sites such as small construction sites and manufacturing workplaces, and 4.1 billion won of the supplementary budget was reflected for safety technology support projects.