Unemployment Benefits 11.5 Trillion, Industrial Accident and Parental Leave Benefits Also Increase… Ministry of Employment, Next Year's Fund Expenditure Approaches 31 Trillion Won

[Financial News] The Ministry of Employment and Labor's fund expenditure for next year is expected to approach 31 trillion won. This is the result of an overall increase in employment insurance, industrial accident insurance, and wage bond funds.
 The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 31st that the budget for next year under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Employment and Labor in the 2026 government budget proposal was 37 trillion 6.157 billion won, as stated at the Cabinet meeting on the 29th. This is an increase of 2 trillion 2.705 billion won (6.4%) compared to this year.
 The tentative allocation for next year's fund expenditure, which is the largest part of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's budget, is set at 30 trillion 9.827 billion won. This is an increase of 1 trillion 3.924 billion won (4.7%) compared to this year's fund expenditure budget.
 The budget for unemployment benefits, industrial accident insurance benefits, and parental leave benefits, which make up the majority of fund expenditure, is all set higher than this year. The goal of creating a 'Happy Workplace' has led to an increase in the upper limit of childbirth benefits (including spouse childbirth benefits), miscarriage and stillbirth benefits, and infertility treatment benefits, and the fund for protecting and resolving employment blind spots has been significantly increased.
 Next year's employment insurance budget is 18 trillion 4.789 billion won, an increase of 3.8% (6.723 billion won) compared to this year. Of this, the unemployment benefits budget for involuntary job leavers is 11 trillion 5.376 billion won, an increase of 5.6% (6.205 billion won) compared to this year's main budget. The authorities expect the number of unemployment benefit recipients next year to reach about 1.636 million.
 The budget for early reemployment allowances, which are paid to those who find employment with more than half of their unemployment benefit period remaining, is also set at 5.852 billion won next year, an increase of 597 billion won compared to this year (5.255 billion won). The number of early reemployment allowance recipients next year is expected to be around 117,000.
 The fund expenditure for supporting childcare parents will also increase from 4 trillion 2.25 billion won this year to 4 trillion 7.28 billion won next year, an increase of about 503 billion won. Next year's parental leave benefits budget is set at 3 trillion 3.936 billion won, and the budget for reduced working hours during childcare is set at 2.680 billion won. In addition, the upper limits for △childbirth benefits (3.792 billion won) △spouse childbirth benefits (269 billion won) △miscarriage and stillbirth benefits (27 billion won) △infertility treatment benefits (25 billion won) have been raised, resulting in an increase in the budget.
 In addition, the employment authorities have expanded the budget for continuous support of social insurance from 8.851 billion won this year to 9.443 billion won next year. The unemployment benefits budget for self-employed individuals will also increase from 184 billion won this year to 199 billion won next year.
 The government has set next year's industrial accident insurance benefits at 8 trillion 1.463 billion won, an increase of 142 billion won compared to this year. Prevention management for industrial accident workers and living stabilization loans have all been increased. This is interpreted as the authorities' intention to strengthen the prevention of industrial accidents and post-support for industrial accident workers.
 Next year's wage bond fund budget is 8.481 billion won, an increase of 2.195 billion won (34.9%) compared to this year (6.285 billion won). It shows the largest increase among fund expenditure items. The budget for substitute payments, where the government pays wages on behalf of workers with unpaid wages, will increase from 5.293 billion won this year to 7.465 billion won next year, an increase of about 2.172 billion won.
 The Ministry of Employment and Labor has also focused on eliminating inequality for employment vulnerable groups in employment blind spots by expanding budget items related to job creation for people with disabilities from 9.372 billion won this year to 1 trillion 41 billion won.
 This government budget proposal is expected to be finalized after deliberation and approval by the National Assembly in September.
jhyuk@fnnews.com Kim Junhyuk Reporter