Same Scale as Government Proposal
Additional 1.2929 Trillion Won for Unemployment Benefits
This year’s main budget for the Ministry of Employment and Labor is 35.3452 trillion won, with an additional 280.3 billion won allocated during the first supplementary budget. With this second supplementary budget of 1.5837 trillion won, the total budget for this year has increased to 37.2092 trillion won. This supplementary budget consists of 257.5 billion won from the general and special accounts, and 1.3261 trillion won from funds.
A total of 10 projects under the Ministry of Employment and Labor received increased funding in this supplementary budget. The budget for job creation projects was expanded to strengthen the employment safety net and increase job opportunities for young people. Funding also increased for projects aimed at supporting vulnerable workers, including delayed wage workers, low-income workers at small businesses, and workers at workplaces vulnerable to heat waves. However, the budget for one project promoting skilled labor, which had unused funds due to construction delays at the Yeongnam Skilled Technology Promotion Center, was reduced by 9.2 billion won.
Specifically, as concerns about employment in the construction and manufacturing sectors grew, an additional 1.2929 trillion won was allocated for unemployment benefits. Unemployment benefits are part of the employment safety net, providing job-seeking allowances and other support to those who have involuntarily lost their jobs and are actively seeking reemployment. The number of additional recipients supported by this supplementary budget is 187,000, bringing the total number of beneficiaries this year to 1,798,000.
The government also expanded the number of participants in the National Employment Support System, which provides livelihood support and tailored employment assistance to vulnerable groups not covered by employment insurance. An additional 165.2 billion won was allocated to establish specialized types for key industries such as construction. The number of additional recipients supported by this supplementary budget is 55,000, of which 10,000 are targeted for the specialized types. This brings the total number of recipients supported by the relevant program this year to 360,000.
In the process of expanding job opportunities for young people, the focus is on supporting high school students, job seekers, and young employees. To expand customized vocational training (general high school specialized training) for third-year general high school students who are motivated to seek early employment, 16 billion won was included in the supplementary budget. The number of additional recipients is 1,820, bringing the total number of beneficiaries this year to 7,000.
As the trend of increasing delayed wage payments continues this year, the supplementary budget also includes 8.1 billion won for related measures. However, since the budget was already increased once in the first supplementary budget, this time the focus is on lowering interest rates and expanding the scale of wage arrears settlement support loans to ensure prompt relief for affected workers. For a temporary period of three months, delinquent employers (2.7%) and workers (1%) will each receive a 1 percentage point and 0.5 percentage point reduction in interest rates, respectively.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "We will do our utmost to ensure that the new government supplementary budget is swiftly implemented in the field by establishing plans quickly, streamlining procedures, and intensively promoting each project."
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