Ministry of Employment Increases Asset Requirement for Youth National Employment Support Program from 400 Million to 500 Million Won

50,000 KRW Job-Seeking Promotion Allowance Support for 6 Months

Job information bulletin board at an employment support center in Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

The government is expanding the asset requirements of the National Employment Support System from the existing 400 million KRW to 500 million KRW to increase employment support for young people.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 26th that the revised "National Employment Support System Operation Regulations," which expand the asset requirement for Type I beneficiaries of the National Employment Support System for youth from a total asset amount of 400 million KRW or less to 500 million KRW or less, will be implemented starting next month on the 1st.

The Korean-style unemployment assistance, the National Employment Support System, is an employment safety net that supports the livelihood stability of vulnerable groups outside the employment insurance system, such as new entrants to the labor market and low-income long-term unemployed, and promotes rapid entry into the labor market through employment support services.

With this revision, young people aged 18 to 34 whose household total assets are 500 million KRW or less and whose income is 120% or less of the median income will be able to receive employment support services along with a job-seeking promotion allowance of 500,000 KRW for six months.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "The asset requirement was expanded to resolve difficulties faced by vulnerable youth in the metropolitan area during the process of participating in the system due to the recent increase in official prices of apartment complexes."

Additionally, this revision strengthens employment support services for small business owners who are struggling due to COVID-19 and other factors.

Until now, the government has temporarily expanded the annual sales requirement for participation in the small business owner employment support service (Type II) from 150 million KRW or less to 300 million KRW, but starting next month on the 1st, this will be permanently expanded.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will also revise the Act on Support for Job Seekers' Employment Promotion and Livelihood Stability.

Previously, if a participant in the National Employment Support System receiving the job-seeking promotion allowance earned income exceeding 549,000 KRW per month, the allowance for that month was uniformly suspended.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor considered the criticism that this method fundamentally restricts the income activities of recipients and decided to improve the system so that even if income is earned during the benefit period, the allowance will be reduced according to the level of income earned instead of being uniformly suspended.

Furthermore, the eligibility requirements for receiving the job-seeking promotion allowance for youth aged 18 to 34 will be expanded to include job seekers aged 15 to 17, such as teenage parents and youth in crisis.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to announce the revision for public comment by August 1 and promptly proceed with the system improvements.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of Employment Service Policy, said, "We will conduct proactive system guidance and participant discovery in the second half of the year to ensure that more people receive the necessary employment support, and we will advance the Korean-style unemployment assistance to firmly establish it as a secondary employment safety net."