Government Subsidies to Expand for Employers Providing Paternity Leave; Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Diagnostic Facilities to Increase

Starting next month, the government will provide work-sharing subsidies to employers who grant paternity leave to their employees.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced today (June 23) that an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act, which includes these measures, was approved at a Cabinet meeting.

Previously, work-sharing subsidies were only provided when employees took parental leave or reduced their working hours during the childcare period.

However, moving forward, employers who provide compensation to colleagues who take on the workload of an employee taking 20 consecutive days of paternity leave will also be eligible for these subsidies.

An amendment to the enforcement decree improving the "Regional Employment Promotion Subsidy" program was also passed at the Cabinet meeting. This program provides wage support to employers who relocate, establish, or expand businesses in regions facing employment crises and hire local job seekers for at least six months.

Currently, subsidies are provided if operations begin within one year and six months of reporting a regional employment plan. This period has been shortened to six months to accelerate job creation.

However, in cases involving special circumstances, such as large-scale facility investments, the period may be extended by up to one year.

Additionally, a legal basis for providing vocational training allowances for incumbent workers has been established, allowing vocational training—previously limited to prospective hires or job seekers—to be extended to small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) employees and foreign workers.

An amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act was also approved at the Cabinet meeting, which expands the number of medical institutions authorized to conduct special examinations for industrial accident compensation related to noise-induced hearing loss. The program will now include not only legally designated medical institutions but also hospitals and clinics that meet the required staffing and facility standards.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor expects that adding 100 more hospitals and clinics for these examinations will reduce the waiting time for testing by approximately 80 days.

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