Full Support Payment Granted Even if Voluntary Resignation Follows Parental Leave

Notice of Partial Amendment to the Employment Insurance Act

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will announce a legislative notice for partial amendments to subordinate regulations under the Employment Insurance Act for 40 days starting from the 18th. The main contents include improvements to the eligibility requirements for the childbirth and childcare employment stability incentive, exclusion of early reemployment allowance application for alternative military service personnel, and simplification of other civil complaint documents.

Going forward, workers who have taken childcare leave or reduced working hours during the childcare period will receive the full amount of the childcare leave support and childcare period reduced working hours support even if they voluntarily resign after the end of using the relevant system. Currently, 50% of the support is paid during the period when the worker uses childcare leave or reduced working hours during the childcare period, and the remaining 50% is paid as a lump sum when the employer of a priority support target company under the Employment Insurance Act employs the worker who has completed the use of childcare leave, etc. for more than six months. With this amendment, even if the worker voluntarily resigns within six months after using the system without employer responsibility (such as dismissal or recommended resignation), they will be able to receive 50% of the support.

Considering the purpose of the early reemployment allowance system, those employed as alternative military service personnel will be excluded from the early reemployment allowance payment target. The early reemployment allowance is a benefit that pays 50% of the remaining unemployment benefits to a job seeker who actively finds reemployment before the expiration of the benefit period. Until now, alternative military service personnel such as industrial technical personnel could receive the early reemployment allowance despite having an obligation to serve (work) during the relevant period according to the Military Service Act.

The procedure for paying the early reemployment allowance will also be simplified. When a job seeker receiving unemployment benefits starts self-employment and continues the business for more than 12 months, they can receive the early reemployment allowance by submitting only tax proof documents such as monthly sales.

Lee Jeong-han, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "This amendment focused on improving inconveniences and irrationalities raised in the field," adding, "We expect that rational adjustments and simplifications of the eligibility requirements and procedures for childbirth and childcare employment stability incentives and early reemployment allowance payments will enhance convenience for small and medium-sized business owners and beneficiaries."