Gov't to give W3 million to jobseekers in 2021

People seeking unemployment benefits queue to find a seat for a briefing session in Seoul, Aug. 10. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

The government plans to give 3 million won ($2,532) to low-income jobseekers in January 2021, as part of a strengthened social safety net to help vulnerable people hit hard in the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a revision of a related law put forth by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Friday, around 400,000 people will be able to receive 500,000 won every month for six months in 2021. The program will be extended to cover up to 500,000 people in 2022.

To be eligible, applicants must be aged 15 to 64. People aged 18 to 34 must earn less than 120 percent of the median income, whereas those aged 35 to 64 should earn less than 50 percent of the median income. Those with assets worth more than 300 million won will not qualify.

Also to be excluded are people who have worked 800 hours or less in the past two years, a measure put in place to help those forced out of work due to the virus-triggered crisis among other tightening economic conditions.

This also aims to prevent abuse of the program such as receiving money by pretending to seek work without following through, a growing headache for the ministry whose employment fund has been reporting a record-high deficit over the past few months.

Recipients of the benefit will have to file a regular report to the government on their job-seeking efforts. Failing to meet certain standards will result in disqualification.

Recipients can seek other greater state welfare benefits including cheaper financing and childcare services apart from activities directly related to job training.

Those engaged in what the government determines to be welfare fraud will be banned from seeking any similar benefits for five years.

The strengthened move comes in response to worsening job market conditions, with more people losing jobs over the past five months and more people giving up looking for work.

Statistics Korea data showed 1.13 million people were jobless in July, the highest figure for the month since 1999.

Korea lost 277,000 jobs in July, 352,000 in June and 392,000 in May. The figure for April was 476,000 and 195,000 in March.

The ongoing job losses that began in March are the worst since 2009, when the country suffered job losses for eight consecutive months from January through August following the global financial crisis.