Jobseekers' Benefit for Voluntary Resignations in First Jobs Raises Concerns Over Early Quitting

While the government is pushing to provide unemployment benefits to young adults under 35 even if they voluntarily resign, statistics show that two out of three voluntary quitters in that age group leave their companies after working for less than a year.

While the policy aims to lower the burden of quitting for the younger generation, concerns are also being raised that it could encourage early job-hopping.

According to employment administration statistics from the Korea Employment Information Service, as of June this year, the number of people under 35 who lost their employment insurance coverage reached approximately 190,000. Among them, voluntary quitters—who left due to personal reasons or unpaid wages—accounted for 76%, reaching about 146,000.

The issue is that a significant portion of these individuals worked for only a short period before quitting. Two-thirds of the voluntary quitters had a tenure of less than a year, and when adding those with a tenure of one to three years, they accounted for over 90% of all quitters.

Under the current system, jobseekers' benefits could in principle only be received by those who experienced involuntary job losses. However, the government recently announced plans to allow young adults under 35 to receive jobseekers' benefits once in their lifetime, even if they voluntarily leave their jobs after working for a certain period.

The plan has been under review to provide 60% of pre-separation wages—up to about 1 million won per month—with the intention of guaranteeing time for a re-challenge to young people who postpone resigning due to livelihood concerns even when their first jobs are not a good fit. While experts agree with the policy intent, they point out that if unemployment benefits are perceived merely as a stipend received after quitting, it could actually encourage early resignation.

Yoon Dong-yol, a professor of business administration at Konkuk University, noted, "The system can buy time for young people who find it difficult to quit due to livelihood issues even when their jobs are not a good fit." However, he also expressed concern that "if the requirements are loose, it could lead to cases where people quit after short-term employment or intentionally create a employment gap just to receive the benefits."

(Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.