Foreign Nationals Received KRW 113.3 Billion in Unemployment Benefits; Chinese Nationals and Chinese Compatriots Took KRW 89.4 Billion—Eight in 10 Recipients Were Chinese Nationals or Chinese Compatriots

[Financial News] Nearly 80% of the unemployment benefits paid to foreign nationals last year went to Chinese nationals and Chinese compatriots. Although they accounted for only about 25% of all foreign employment insurance subscribers, their share of unemployment benefits received was three times higher.
According to a report by The Korea Economic Daily on the 26th, which cited data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Kim Wi-sang, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee, Chinese nationals and Chinese compatriots received KRW 89.4 billion out of the total KRW 113.3 billion in unemployment benefits paid to foreign nationals last year.
That amounted to about 79% of the approximately KRW 113.3 billion in total unemployment benefits paid to foreign nationals that year. Vietnam, the United States, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines followed in terms of benefits received.
By contrast, Chinese nationals and Chinese compatriots numbered approximately 118,000 among the roughly 458,000 foreign employment insurance subscribers as of the end of last year, accounting for just 25.9%. Their share of unemployment benefits actually received was therefore about three times their share of subscribers.
Meanwhile, unemployment benefit payments to foreign nationals reached a record high as the number of subscribers and premium payments surged following the expansion of mandatory employment insurance coverage for foreign nationals over the past two years. The number of foreign subscribers rose 2.6-fold, from approximately 177,000 in 2021 to roughly 458,000 last year. Premiums assessed also nearly doubled over the same period, increasing from KRW 92.9 billion to KRW 177.2 billion.
[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter