The Ministry of Employment and Labor said April 28 that the Cabinet reviewed and approved amendments to the enforcement decrees of the Employment Insurance Act and the Wage Claim Guarantee Act.
Until now, expanded employment retention subsidies have been limited to special employment support industries and employment crisis areas. The revised decree allows broader support even when job conditions worsen markedly nationwide.
Eligibility requirements for the subsidy, previously set differently by type such as temporary shutdowns or leave, will be unified under a single standard: measures in which workers do not provide labor. The ministry said the change is intended to simplify complex application rules and improve understanding and use in the field.
The government will also restrict access to programs under the Employment Insurance Act — including employment promotion and employment stability subsidies — for employers deemed habitual wage delinquents. The ministry said amendments to the Labor Standards Act created a legal basis to limit government subsidies and support for such employers, a step expected to encourage payment of overdue wages and reduce harm to workers.
When the state pays workers unpaid wages on an employer’s behalf, it will collect the repayment using procedures for delinquent national taxes. Previously, collections followed civil enforcement, but critics said the process took a long time until a court ruling and lacked coercive power, leaving the cumulative recovery rate at 30%.
Labor authorities said the change will allow compulsory collection without a final court judgment, sharply shortening recovery time and improving the recovery rate. The ministry said it expects the measure to heighten employers’ awareness of their ultimate responsibility for wage arrears and help operate the advance payment system more stably.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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