Even with Work Experience... Youth Eligible for '3 Million Won per Person' Job-Seeking Promotion Allowance 'OK'

Six Revised Bills under the Ministry of Employment Approved by the National Assembly
Including the Amendment to the Job Seeker Employment Promotion Act

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Young people with employment experience will be able to receive job-seeking promotion allowances of up to 3 million KRW per person. In addition, employers above a certain scale must provide rest facilities for workers, and a fine of up to 15 million KRW will be imposed if these are not installed.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 24th that the National Assembly has passed six employment-related bills, including the Worker Vocational Competency Development Act. The laws passed this time include the Worker Vocational Competency Development Act, Industrial Safety and Health Act, Act on Promotion of Employment and Vocational Stabilization of Job Seekers, Act on Collection of Insurance Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, Basic Employment Policy Act, and Basic Labor Welfare Act.

First, the name of the Worker Vocational Competency Development Act, which supports vocational competency development, was changed to the National Lifelong Vocational Competency Development Act. Although vocational training is also supported for special employment types (teukgo) workers and self-employed persons, the previous name caused misunderstandings that support was limited to workers or unemployed persons. In addition, training institutions are now obligated to implement quarantine measures to prevent infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and administrative measures such as correction orders can be imposed if these are not followed. The revised Worker Vocational Competency Development Act will take effect six months after promulgation.

Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor

The restriction that young people with employment history could not receive job-seeking promotion allowances even if they met income or property requirements has been improved. According to the Act on Promotion of Employment and Vocational Stabilization of Job Seekers, young people and career-interrupted women whose household monthly average income is 120% or less of the median income and whose total property is 400 million KRW or less receive 500,000 KRW per month for six months as job-seeking promotion allowances. This is a kind of unemployment assistance system as part of the National Employment Support System.

However, there have been continuous criticisms that the regulation requiring young people to have no employment experience of 100 days or 800 hours or more within the last two years to receive allowances under the 'selection-type special support' lacks effectiveness. This system was criticized for excluding young people who diligently prepared for employment by combining internships and part-time jobs. With this revision, young people can receive allowances as long as they meet income and property requirements regardless of employment experience. The enforcement date is immediate upon promulgation.

An amendment to the Industrial Safety and Health Act was also passed, requiring workplaces meeting certain criteria to provide rest facilities that comply with management standards specified in subordinate regulations. Appropriate standards such as the area and location of rest facilities will be detailed through Ministry of Employment and Labor ordinances after collecting opinions from labor and management experts. The subject of industrial accident prevention guidance contracts in construction projects will also change from the existing construction contractors to the construction project owners. Including owners who directly carry out construction is expected to enable more efficient industrial accident prevention guidance. This will take effect one year after promulgation.

Additionally, the amendment to the Act on Collection of Insurance Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, which eases the burden of lump-sum payment of overdue insurance premiums after the termination of special employment support industries and employment crisis areas, was also passed and will be enforced from January 1 next year. The Basic Employment Policy Act was also amended to establish grounds for lifting designations of employment crisis areas and special employment support industries when employment conditions improve and support is no longer necessary.