"50 Million Won Paid to 40,000 Unemployed Youth... 160,000 Applications Next Month"

Ministry of Employment and Labor Completes First Payment of Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund
Cash Paid to 40,000 Out of Approximately 60,000 First Round Beneficiaries
Second Application from 12th to 24th Next Month... Online Youth Center Registration

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The first round of payments for the 'Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund,' which provides 500,000 KRW to unemployed youth willing to seek jobs, was completed on the 29th.

On this day, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it had completed payments to 40,980 young people facing difficulties in finding employment due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Previously, the Ministry of Employment prioritized recipients to ensure payments before Chuseok and prepared a list of first-round beneficiaries in advance.

The first-round beneficiaries include ▲low-income vulnerable groups of unemployed youth who had not previously received job-seeking promotion allowances ▲youth who participated in the 2019 job support program but remained unemployed with prolonged job-seeking periods.

On the 23rd, application guidance messages and notifications were sent to them, and applications were accepted through the Online Youth Center from the 24th to the 25th.

As a result of the application process, a total of 43,866 people applied for the first round of support. This represents 73.3% of the 59,842 first-round beneficiaries.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor checked with related agencies such as the National Tax Service, Government Employees Pension Service, and Ministry of National Defense to verify whether applicants were employed or self-employed. The final number confirmed as eligible for the first-round payment was 41,400, and transfers were requested through commercial banks for these individuals.

Among them, payments of 500,000 KRW per person were completed today (the 29th) for 40,980 youth under the Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund.

Except for 420 cases where issues such as account information mismatches occurred during the transfer process, all payments were made.

For the 420 youth who did not receive payments due to account information mismatches, guidance messages (SMS) and notifications will be sent today. After an error correction period from the 12th to the 24th of next month, payments will be made.

The second application period, targeting approximately 160,000 unemployed youth, will also be held from the 12th to the 24th of next month. The Ministry of Employment and Labor is currently recruiting staff and conducting system modifications and improvements for this purpose. The second application will also be accepted through the 'Online Youth Center.'

During this period, applications will be accepted from ▲youth newly participating in the Employment Success Package by the 24th of next month ▲youth who participated in the 2020 job support program ▲first-round beneficiaries who could not apply during the first period.

Jang Geun-seop, Director of Youth Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "Considering the difficult employment conditions for youth due to COVID-19, such as delayed or reduced hiring, we ensured that payments were completed before Chuseok for youth who needed priority support."

He added, "During the second application period, we plan to support about 160,000 additional youth and will make every effort to ensure smooth payment by thoroughly preparing the system infrastructure and other necessary measures."