Support of 450,000 KRW per month for mild cases and 800,000 KRW per month for severe cases per person
[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] Gangwon Province has implemented the 'Disability Employment Promotion Incentive Support System' starting this year to expand new employment opportunities for people with disabilities and support their independence.
According to Gangwon Province on the 5th, the current Ministry of Employment and Labor's 'Disability Employment Incentive System' supports only disabled workers employed by companies with 50 or more regular employees that exceed the statutory mandatory employment rate (3.1%).
There are limitations in using this as an incentive to increase the employment rate of people with disabilities in companies with fewer than 50 employees, which account for 99% of companies in the province and are not subject to mandatory employment.
In fact, the employment rate of people with disabilities in companies with fewer than 50 employees is low, and an analysis of changes in disability employment in Gangwon Province before and after the COVID-19 pandemic showed that companies with fewer than 50 employees are more sensitive to economic fluctuations and face greater difficulties in maintaining employment.
According to the 2019 survey on the employment status of disabled workers conducted by the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled Employment Development Institute, companies with 50 or more employees nationwide showed an employment rate of 2%, while companies with fewer than 50 employees showed 0.86%. Also, from the first quarter of 2019 for one year, the number of disabled workers in companies with fewer than 50 employees decreased by 137.
Accordingly, the province plans to expand various promotional activities targeting companies and measures to reduce the burden of employing people with disabilities to lead to substantial job creation for people with disabilities.
There are 21,397 companies with 5 to fewer than 50 employees in the province, and aiming to create about 100 new jobs, the province supports about 200 disabled workers (corresponding to the mandatory employment rate of 3.1%, 1 to 2 people per company) in 141 companies excluded from the Ministry of Employment and Labor's employment incentive payments.
Employers of companies with 5 to fewer than 50 regular employees who have employed people with disabilities in the province can apply by visiting or mailing the disability job department of the city or county where the workplace is located. If selected as a payment recipient, 450,000 KRW per month for mild disabilities and 800,000 KRW per month for severe disabilities will be paid per person.
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