Injecting 810 Billion Won to Support 80% of Employment and National Pension Insurance Premiums... Who Are the Beneficiaries?

Implementation of 'Durunuri Project' for Small Business Owners and Workers
Targeting Workplaces with Fewer Than 10 Employees and Monthly Wages Under 2.2 Million KRW
Applied to New Subscribers... Support Also for Low-Income Artists

With the resurgence of COVID-19, government quarantine measures have been strengthened, and citizens' consumption activities have even contracted, intensifying the suffering of self-employed business owners. On the 31st, the Myeongdong street in Jung-gu, Seoul, where restaurants and various shops are concentrated, appeared quiet. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government will implement a social insurance premium support program this year for small business owners, low-income workers, and artists.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 2nd that it will carry out the 'Durunuri Social Insurance Premium Support Project' with a budget of 810.3 billion KRW to eliminate blind spots in social insurance.

This project supports 80% of the employment insurance and national pension premiums paid by workers and business owners. Benefits are available when workers with a monthly average wage of less than 2.2 million KRW newly enroll in social insurance at workplaces with fewer than 10 employees.

In particular, starting this year, the scope of support has been expanded to low-income artists following the enforcement of the Employment Insurance Act for artists. Employment insurance premiums are supported for artists who have signed contracts related to cultural and artistic services.

The scale of the business must be fewer than 10 employees regardless of the number of artists, and the artist’s monthly average wage must be less than 2.2 million KRW.

If an artist has signed two or more contracts related to cultural and artistic services, the total monthly wage must be less than 2.2 million KRW to receive benefits.

Additionally, the Ministry of Employment and Labor supports institutions that handle employment and industrial accident insurance administration for small businesses with fewer than 30 employees through the insurance administration agency support project. From this year, support for employment insurance administration for artists will also be provided.

Insurance administration is mainly performed by labor attorneys, labor law firms, tax accountants, and tax firms, and is currently carried out by about 4,900 institutions.

If the agency handles employment insurance relationship establishment reports, 40,000 KRW per workplace is supported, and if it handles insured qualification acquisition reports, 12,000 to 18,000 KRW per workplace per quarter is supported.

Also, if the total wage report (once a year) is handled, 18,000 to 24,000 KRW per workplace is supported, and an additional 5,000 to 10,000 KRW may be added depending on the performance of the artist total wage report.

For detailed information on employment insurance premiums and insurance administration agency support, contact the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (☎1588-0075).

Kwon Ki-seop, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "We will actively strive to support employment insurance premiums for workers, artists, and small business owners who are struggling due to COVID-19."

He added, "We will also prepare a plan to support employment insurance premiums for special-type workers and business owners in line with the application of employment insurance to special-type workers starting in July this year."