[War Supplementary Budget] Ministry of Employment and Labor Injects 539 Billion Won to Respond to Employment Shocks... Strengthening Support for Low-Income Job Seekers

A Total of 253 Billion Won for Vocational Training
121.5 Billion Won Allocated for Low-Income Worker Support
80.1 Billion Won for the National Employment Support System

The government has drawn up a supplementary budget of 540 billion won for the employment and labor sector, aiming to mitigate employment shocks and expand support for vulnerable groups and young people.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on March 31, the government approved the first supplementary budget proposal for 2026 at a Cabinet meeting on this day. The portion of the supplementary budget under the Ministry of Employment and Labor covers 10 projects and totals 538.6 billion won, which will be finalized after deliberation by the National Assembly. In this supplementary budget, the labor sector focuses on three main areas: mitigating employment shock, stabilizing the livelihoods of workers suffering from delayed or low wages, and intensively supporting youth employment.

The largest portion, 386.6 billion won, is allocated for youth support. Of this, 253 billion won will be invested in vocational training, increasing the number of trainees in the K-Digital Training program by 10,000 and newly establishing the K-New Deal Academy to support an additional 15,000 participants. An additional 1.2 billion won is earmarked for the operation of youth employment support infrastructure, which will fund 100 new peer support group members.

On the 5th, job seekers visiting the Gangnam-gu Employment Fair held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are checking the recruitment notice board. 2025.06.05 Photo by Dong Joo Yoon

For the National Employment Support System, 80.1 billion won will be allocated, expanding the number of beneficiaries of the "Type 1" support—primarily aimed at low-income and vulnerable job seekers—from 242,000 to 272,000. The Youth Job Jump Incentive will receive 25.8 billion won, increasing the number of supported young people from 50,000 to 65,000. An additional 26.5 billion won will be allocated for youth work experience and employment support, expanding opportunities for 3,000 in work experience programs, 1,000 in social value-oriented positions, and 1,000 to 3,000 in challenge and growth programs, respectively.

For support to workers with delayed or low wages, 121.5 billion won has been allocated. An additional 89.9 billion won will be invested in wage arrears clearance loans, increasing the number of beneficiaries from 10,000 to 23,000. For livelihood stabilization loans, 9 billion won will be allocated, expanding the number of recipients from 14,000 to 16,000. Another 22.6 billion won will be set aside for credit guarantee subrogation, improving financial accessibility for vulnerable workers.

A total of 32.9 billion won will be allocated to mitigate employment shocks. Of this, 18.6 billion won will be added to the Employment Retention Subsidy, expanding the number of beneficiaries from 38,000 to 48,000. For regional industry-customized job support, 12 billion won will be allocated, increasing the number of regions designated for employment and industrial crisis response from nine to thirteen. An additional 2.3 billion won will be allocated to support industrial transition, expanding the number of trainees from 400 to 1,500.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "Through this supplementary budget, we will proactively respond to employment instability and strengthen support for vulnerable groups and young people's entry into the labor market."

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