The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 21st that it has allocated an additional budget of 11.1 billion won for the employment retention subsidy, securing a total of 81.4 billion won. This is a measure to prepare for future uncertainties due to tariff increases and to support corporations affected by large wildfires.
The "employment retention subsidy" is a system that supports partial payments of the suspended work or leave allowance for workers when business owners experiencing management difficulties maintain employment through leave instead of layoffs. Corporations can receive support for 50% to 66.67% of the leave or leave allowance paid to each worker limited to 66,000 won per day for up to 180 days a year.
The targets are workers whose employment insurance acquisition period has exceeded 90 days and corporations whose sales have decreased by more than 15% (30% for unpaid) compared to the average of the previous six months.
Previously, in March, corporations located in regions, including Gyeongbuk, designated as special disaster areas due to large wildfires had their application requirements eased until the end of this year, considering the situation. Applications are possible even if the sales decrease requirement is not met, and the employment insurance acquisition period of the targeted workers is not relevant. Additionally, the support level has been increased to a maximum of 90%.
Business owners seeking to receive the employment retention subsidy must establish an employment retention plan and report it to the relevant employment labor center, and then apply for the subsidy on a monthly basis after implementing the suspended work or leave measures and paying the worker allowances.