The government is pushing to revise the system so that young adults under 35 can receive unemployment benefits at least once in their lifetime even if they voluntarily leave their jobs.
However, data on voluntary resignations among those under 35 in the first half of this year showed that roughly 2 out of 3 quit their workplaces before even completing a year.
Notably, among those in their early 20s, 8 out of 10 voluntary quitters left their jobs within a year.
According to the Korea Employment Information Service's employment administration statistics, the number of lost employment insurance coverage qualifications for individuals under 35 in the first half of this year stood at 192,299.
Among them, 146,418 people voluntarily left their jobs due to personal reasons, accounting for 76.1% of the total.
Looking at their tenure, those who worked for less than a year reached 97,437, accounting for 66.5%.
The younger the age group, the higher the rate of short-term resignations.
For those aged 20 to 24, 80.1% of voluntary quitters failed to complete a year, compared to 63.5% for those aged 25 to 29, and 55.2% for those aged 30 to 34.
Against this backdrop, the government is pushing for an amendment to the Employment Insurance Act to allow young people under 35 to receive job-seeking benefits once in their lifetime, even if they voluntarily resign after working for a certain period or longer.
Currently, as a rule, people who voluntarily quit their jobs cannot receive job-seeking benefits.
The intent of the system is to give young people whose initial job duties or working conditions do not fit them an opportunity to find new jobs without postponing resignation due to immediate living burdens, but counterarguments are also emerging.
Critics argue that given that two-thirds of young people who voluntarily quit already do so without working even a year, providing unemployment benefits for voluntary resignations could further lower the threshold for early quitting.
Concerns regarding fairness with young people who have not yet secured employment once are also being raised.
The finances of the employment insurance are another variable.
The employment insurance fund for the 2025 fiscal year recorded a net deficit of 592 billion won, and excluding money borrowed from the Public Capital Management Fund, the actual reserves amount to a mere 79.6 billion won.
Looking solely at the unemployment benefits account, it is in a deficit of approximately 6 trillion won on a real basis.
Reactions online are already pouring in, such as "There is no reason not to take free money given by the government" and "It seems like the reasons to endure difficult workplaces will decrease."
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Graphics by Lee Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News
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