[Changes in the Second Half of the Year] Strengthening Disclosure of Personal Information of Employment Insurance Fee Defaulters

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will strengthen the criteria for disclosing personal information of high-amount and habitual defaulters of employment and industrial accident insurance premiums starting from the second half of this year. Additionally, to eliminate blind spots in industrial accident insurance, the exclusivity requirement will be abolished, and a Job Competency Bank system will be introduced to support workers' employment and career development.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that these changes will take effect in the employment and labor sectors from the second half of this year.

First, from the second half of this year, if the total amount of insurance premiums overdue by more than one year exceeds 50 million KRW, the individual’s information will be subject to disclosure.

Currently, the criteria for disclosing personal information apply when the total amount of insurance premiums overdue for more than two years from the day after the payment deadline exceeds 1 billion KRW. Disclosure of personal information can be made after deliberation by the Insurance Premium Information Disclosure Review Committee.

The Ministry explained, "By strengthening the criteria for disclosing personal information this time, we aim to secure the effectiveness of the disclosure system and encourage defaulters to actively pay their insurance premiums."

Also, starting from the 1st of next month, labor providers who were previously unable to receive protection through industrial accident insurance due to working at multiple workplaces will be able to receive protection through industrial accident insurance in case of work-related accidents.

From January next year, four new occupations will be newly applied: children's school bus drivers, construction site freight truck owners, tourist guides, and after-school instructors. The scope of application will also be expanded for six existing occupations: freight truck owners, insurance planners, quick service drivers, door-to-door salespersons, substitute drivers, and delivery drivers.

The Ministry expects that approximately 930,000 labor providers will additionally benefit from industrial accident insurance through this measure.

Starting from September, the Job Competency Bank system will be implemented to support individuals in saving and integrating various job competencies such as education, training, and qualifications, which can be utilized for employment and career management.

Through this, individuals can receive certificates for the job competencies saved in their Job Competency Accounts, making it easier to utilize the various job skills they have acquired for employment and career development. Companies can verify workers' job competency information through the certificates submitted by individuals and use this information for hiring and personnel placement.

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From the 1st of next month, the miscarriage and stillbirth leave benefits for fixed-term and dispatched workers will also be strengthened.

Previously, fixed-term and dispatched workers could only receive the equivalent amount of maternity leave benefits for the remaining leave period if their employment contract expired during the maternity leave period. Going forward, fixed-term and dispatched workers will also receive the equivalent amount of miscarriage and stillbirth leave benefits for the remaining leave period if their employment contract expires during the miscarriage or stillbirth leave period.

Furthermore, the "Mid-to-Older-Age Career Design Counseling" program, which has provided long-term career design consulting to workers aged 45 and older and special-type workers, will be reorganized.

The target age will be lowered from 45 to 40 years old, allowing individuals to receive career design consulting at an earlier stage. Additionally, the mandatory self-payment (10% of counseling costs) for participants will be abolished to enable participation without financial burden.

The loan system supporting employers in clearing wage arrears, which has been provided to workplaces with fewer than 300 regular workers operating for more than one year, will be expanded to all workplaces operating for more than six months starting from the 1st of next month.

To practically guarantee the livelihood of workers with unpaid wages, the loan limit will be increased from 100 million KRW per employer and 10 million KRW per worker to 150 million KRW per employer and 15 million KRW per worker.

From August 18th, penalties for workplaces that do not install adequate rest facilities will be strengthened.

Workplaces with 20 or more regular workers, construction sites with a total construction cost of 2 billion KRW or more, and workplaces with 10 or more regular workers employing two or more workers in seven specified occupations will be fined up to 15 million KRW if rest facilities are not installed. If installation and management standards are not met, fines of up to 10 million KRW will be imposed.