Chungnam Supports 'Paid Sick Leave' for Daily Workers and Substitute Drivers

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province will provide paid sick leave support for labor-vulnerable groups not enrolled in employment insurance.

The province announced on the 17th that it will promote the "Chungnam-type Paid Sick Leave Support Project" with this content starting this year.

The project targets daily workers, sole proprietors, part-time workers, substitute drivers, and others who are National Health Insurance regional subscribers registered in Chungnam, and who are workers or business income earners with a standard median income of 100% or less. It applies when they are hospitalized or receive outpatient treatment linked to hospitalization, or undergo the National Health Insurance Corporation’s general health checkup (excluding cancer screening).

Support follows the median income criteria per household size announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare this year, and applicants must meet both property standards of 200 million KRW or less in small and medium-sized cities and 170 million KRW or less in rural fishing villages.

The province plans to provide living expenses during hospitalization and the period of the National Health Insurance Corporation’s general health checkup to alleviate the livelihood burden of these groups and guarantee their right to health. The purpose is to prevent people from not taking time off work due to income reduction concerns even when injured or ill.

The project is promoted for labor-vulnerable groups who are not eligible for paid sick leave under the Labor Standards Act, and the support period is up to 14 days per person annually.

The daily wage paid is 86,720 KRW, which corresponds to this year’s living wage in Chungnam. The annual amount reflecting the maximum days is 1,214,080 KRW.

The 14 days include a maximum of 13 days of hospitalization (including 3 days of outpatient treatment linked to hospitalization) and 1 day for the National Health Insurance Corporation’s general health checkup.

Hospitalization must be applied for within 6 months from the discharge date, and the general health checkup must be applied for within 6 months from the first health checkup date.

Applicants wishing to apply can visit the administrative welfare center in their resident registration area (eup, myeon, dong) or submit application documents by registered mail.

However, it is not possible to receive overlapping payments with National Basic Livelihood Security (livelihood benefits), emergency welfare (livelihood support), unemployment benefits, or industrial accident insurance, and hospitalization for cosmetic surgery, plastic surgery, childbirth, or nursing purposes is excluded from support.

Heo Chang-deok, Director of the Welfare and Childcare Policy Division of the province, said, “The paid sick leave support project is promoted to prevent people from going to work for their livelihood even when they are sick or injured and unable to work. We will continue to discover and promote support projects for labor-vulnerable groups so that residents in medical blind spots can receive timely treatment and return to daily life.”