The government will increase next year's youth job budget by 700 billion won. In line with the AI transformation, it will strengthen step-by-step support from the first job for young people with no work experience to building careers and staying on the job after employment.
The 2027 budget plan of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 1st totals 38.9537 trillion won, up 1.2776 trillion won (3.4%) from this year's main budget of 37.6761 trillion won.
Of that, next year's youth job budget is about 3.3 trillion won, up 700 billion won from this year's 2.6 trillion won. The Ministry of Labor, taking into account industry and job changes due to AI adoption and the spread of corporations' hiring practices centered on experienced workers, redesigned the youth support system as "job entry preparation → experience and career building → employment and retention support."
First, it will introduce the first job support program for youth (K-Youth Guarantee). A total of 379.3 billion won will be invested to support 160,000 people. The core is to provide young people with no work experience with services ranging from career exploration to work experience, training, and job placement. The job-seeking promotion allowance will also be raised from 600,000 won a month to 650,000 won.
Career management support will also be expanded. The K-New Deal Academy, which offers opportunities to gain hands-on experience at excellent companies and adapt to society and the workplace, will expand from 10,000 people this year to 50,000 next year. The government will allocate 489.5 billion won to the K-New Deal Academy next year.
A youth AI first-job career support program will also be newly created with a budget of 14.5 billion won. It plans to support 750 young people who have completed AI training courses to be hired by corporations and perform on-the-job tasks such as AX projects. The government will gradually expand the program after reviewing the results of the first round.
To help young people settle in after getting a job, 20.1 billion won will be newly allocated to the Youth Playground. The Youth Job Leap Incentive will expand the number of beneficiaries from 105,000 to 130,000.
Budgets to narrow labor market gaps and strengthen the social safety net were also increased. The "Durunuri program," which subsidizes social insurance premiums for small business sites, will receive 714 billion won, and the number of beneficiaries will increase from 1.08 million this year to 1.8 million next year.
A "labor rights and interests hub" to protect the rights of labor service providers will be newly established in five regions. The budget for the workplace improvement program, which offers rest areas and welfare services to labor service providers, will rise from 2.5 billion won this year to 6.7 billion won next year, and the number of participating local governments will expand from 30 to 60. The number of Foreign Workers Support Centers will also increase from 19 to 26.
The labor market safety net will also be strengthened. Industrial accident insurance benefits will increase from 8.1463 trillion won this year to 8.6246 trillion won next year, and a system of advance guarantees for industrial accident insurance benefits will be introduced. Lump-sum payments to protect workers with unpaid wages will be expanded from 746.1 billion won to 776.6 billion won.
In addition, for business sites vulnerable to fire and explosion accidents, a specialized support program will be newly established with an investment of 40.1 billion won. For the program to create safe workplaces that provides safety facilities and equipment mainly for small business sites, 176.8 billion won was allocated, up 16.2 billion won from this year.
Kim Young-hoon, Minister of Labor, said, "In this era of great transformation facing the world, including climate and AI, the state must play an active role so that no one is left out and everyone can adapt to change and build the capacity to create new opportunities," adding, "We will ensure that precious national finances are used to realize 'real growth with labor' and 'a country where everyone works happily.'"