It was found that the difference between the additional expense corporations incur when they employ a person with a disability and the legal levy they pay when they do not is just over 20,000 won.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and related institution research on the 26th, the average additional monthly expense last year to employ one person with a disability at business sites was 1,237,000 won. Additional expense refers to a concept that includes costs for facilities such as accessible routes and parking spaces and losses from lower productivity compared with non-disabled workers.
This is 21,000 won lower than the legal levy (1,258,000 won). A legal levy is money paid when the mandatory employment rate for people with disabilities is not met, similar to a fine. There is little difference between the additional expense incurred when employing a person with a disability and the legal levy paid when violating the mandatory employment rate.
Because of this, among 319 enterprises with low employment of people with disabilities announced in Dec., 51 were found to have been on the list for 10 consecutive years. For five consecutive years, it was 113, and for three consecutive years, 158. The legal levy is set within a range of at least 60% of the minimum wage. As the minimum wage rose this year, the lower limit of the base amount for the legal levy increased to 1,294,000 won. However, some noted it is insufficient to spur hiring.
In response, the government launched a review to improve the system. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said on the 20th, "Implement effective measures, such as increasing levies for establishments with chronic repeated noncompliance or raising them step by step according to the noncompliance rate." Accordingly, the relevant ministries are expected to begin work to raise the compliance rate of the mandatory employment system for people with disabilities.