1.7 Trillion Won Invested Including Youth Housing Support Measures
Ministry of Employment Secures 500 Billion Won... Strengthening Employment Retention Subsidies, etc.
The 2021 2nd supplementary budget bill was passed in the plenary session held in the early morning of the 24th at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. (Image source=Yonhap News)
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced on the 24th that the second supplementary budget for this year, which allocates 2.5 trillion KRW for youth support and employment recovery, has been confirmed by the National Assembly. The budget includes cash support for employers who hire vulnerable groups such as youth, as well as support of up to 700,000 KRW for youth certification acquisition costs at vocational high schools and other institutions.
An Additional 1.7 Trillion KRW Invested in Youth Job Seeking and Housing Support
The government announced the supplementary budget for early employment recovery and youth support, which was confirmed at the National Assembly plenary session early that day. First, 1.7 trillion KRW will be invested in the 'Youth Hope Ladder Package,' a policy designed to help with labor market entry and housing issues. It includes support of 500,000 to 700,000 KRW for certification acquisition costs for vocational high school and junior college students, and the additional supply of 5,000 youth rental housing units.
An additional 800 billion KRW will be invested in existing wage support policies. This includes support for 15,000 people under the 'Special Employment Promotion Subsidy,' which provides up to 9 million KRW per year for hiring youth as regular employees, as well as funding for software (SW) workforce training (10,000 people), and a three-month extension of the 90% special period for employment retention subsidies (80,000 people).
Additionally, 1 trillion KRW will be provided to small business owners and cultural sector workers who have suffered significant business damage due to COVID-19. Of this, 700 billion KRW will be allocated to strengthen safety nets for small business owners and vulnerable groups, and 300 billion KRW will be invested to revitalize the culture, arts, and tourism industries.
5 Trillion KRW Bonus to Ministry of Employment... 100 Billion KRW Invested in Employment Retention Subsidies
The domestic terminal of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on February 9th. / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@
The Ministry of Employment and Labor, the main responsible department, secured an additional 518 billion KRW in the second supplementary budget. Considering that it received 2.0697 trillion KRW in the first supplementary budget in March, it has obtained an additional 2.5877 trillion KRW compared to the original budget this year alone. The Ministry plans to use the funds for ▲ employment retention and recovery support ▲ workforce training in digital and new technologies ▲ employment support for persons with disabilities ▲ strengthening industrial accident prevention support ▲ income stabilization funds, among others.
The 15 policies funded by this supplementary budget maintain the broad framework of wage support for employment recovery while focusing on nurturing young talent. The largest amount, 110.3 billion KRW, will be invested in employment retention subsidies for industries such as aviation that faced management crises due to COVID-19. Regarding new job creation, there are programs such as ▲ Future Youth Talent Development (92.4 billion KRW invested, supporting 10,000 people) and ▲ Youth Tomorrow Savings (14.6 billion KRW, 20,000 people supported).
The Future Youth Talent Development policy supports companies selected by the government that newly hire unemployed youth with up to 11.4 million KRW. The Youth Tomorrow Savings program helps young workers build assets by providing up to 12 million KRW in asset formation support to those who have worked at small and medium-sized enterprises for more than two years.
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