The Ministry of Employment and Labor said May 4 it will improve the criteria for designating employment crisis areas and special employment support industries.
The designation system is intended to support job stability by identifying regions and industries where employment conditions have sharply worsened. In the past, however, concerns have been raised that strict requirements made it difficult to detect crises in time.
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said at an emergency employment and labor situation review meeting on April 13 that institutional requirements or procedures should not become obstacles that prevent needed support from reaching workers and companies facing real hardship.
Kim also said that if current requirements do not reflect reality, the government should boldly overhaul the system, taking into account what he described as an “economic wartime situation.” He ordered officials to detect crises immediately and provide support in real time.
Reflecting feedback from the field, the ministry said it will revise quantitative criteria. To speed responses to employment shocks, it will shorten the calculation period for quantitative requirements to six months from 12. It will also include day workers who left jobs due to company circumstances in the number of unemployment benefit applicants, to better reflect actual conditions.
The ministry said that if sharp employment changes occur in regions and industries where a slowdown is feared, it will quickly designate them under the revised standards and provide necessary support. It also pledged to keep refining the system to closely monitor changes on the ground and respond preemptively.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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