Daejeon City Supports Labor Costs for New Employees in Small and Medium Enterprises

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City will support part of the labor costs for newly hired personnel to stabilize the management of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The city announced on the 18th that it will implement the "SME New Employment Labor Cost Support Project" with this purpose.

The project will be prioritized for SMEs located in Daejeon that, as of July 1, apply the 52-hour workweek system, have 5 or more regular employees, and fewer than 50 employees.

Eligible workers for labor cost support are Daejeon residents aged 18 to 60 who were newly employed after the 18th of this month.

The payment standard is based on this year's minimum wage, with a maximum support of 1,640,000 KRW, which is 90% of the monthly wage for 209 working hours, for up to 3 months.

However, the support is conditional on no change in the total number of employees during the support period and the maintenance of employment for the newly hired workers. The maximum number of supported employees per company is two.

Employers are not eligible for support if they fall under any of the following: ▲ national, local government, or public institutions ▲ industries specified in Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Support for SME Manpower ▲ cases where newly hired workers receive labor cost support from the state or others ▲ employers listed for wage arrears ▲ employers paying wages below the minimum wage ▲ employers with unpaid four major social insurance premiums ▲ failure to meet 3 months of employment ▲ business closure or relocation outside the jurisdiction.

Additionally, workers are excluded from support if they are ▲ not enrolled in the four major social insurances ▲ spouses or direct lineal relatives of the company representative ▲ foreigners without South Korean nationality ▲ working less than 60 hours per month ▲ previous applicants or beneficiaries of Daejeon City’s labor cost support projects.

Applications can be submitted from the 20th of this month to the 19th of next month through the dedicated application website of the Daejeon Job and Economy Promotion Agency.

For more details, please refer to the project announcement or contact the Daejeon Job and Economy Promotion Agency.

Ko Hyun-deok, Director of the Job and Economy Bureau of Daejeon City, stated, “We will ensure that the SME New Employment Labor Cost Support Project provides practical assistance to local SMEs.”