korea, Republic of

Why South Korea Has So Many Elderly Still in the Workforce

Submitted by pmassetti on Fri, 02/23/2024 - 14:51

TIME (19.02.2024) Some 24.5% of South Koreans aged 70 and above were still working as of January, local media reported Monday, as officials increasingly look to keep more elderly in the workforce to address a demographic crisis. Elderly employment figures have seen a steady increase since the country’s statistics authority started to collect the data in 2005.  South Korea is projected to become the world’s most aged by 2044 and the number of people in their 70s exceeded those in their 20s for the first time ever last year.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Old-age pensions
Document Type

Korea: Rapid population aging to accelerate income inequity: BOK

Submitted by pmassetti on Thu, 06/15/2023 - 16:04

The Korea Times (14.06.2023) Income inequality in Korea is likely to accelerate due to a rapidly aging population, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday. The report revealed that income inequality among households has worsened by 30 percent over the past 25 years, largely as a result of the aging population. "The aging population is expected to have a significant negative impact on the Korean economy, not only by lowering labor productivity and increasing the burden of care, but also by widening economical inequality," the report noted.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Old-age pensions
Document Type

Korea to take drastic measures to tackle population decline

Submitted by pmassetti on Mon, 01/09/2023 - 16:09

koreatimes.co.kr (08.01.2023) The government will take drastic measures to tackle Korea's demographic crisis of its falling birthrate and rapidly aging society, said Na Kyung-won, head of the presidential committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, who floated the idea of writing off loans for married couples who give birth to children.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Family benefits
Document Type

Reforms of the employment insurance system of the Republic of Korea to cope with the COVID-19 crisis

Submitted by pmassetti on Thu, 12/16/2021 - 16:03

ilo.org (29.11.2021) COVID-19 pandemic that caused massive unemployment has forced countries to review their employment policy and protection system. This paper summarized efforts taken by Republic of Korea in reforming their employment protection system during the pandemic.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Topics
Employment

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In South Korea, Universal Basic Income is Having a Pandemic Moment

Submitted by pmassetti on Fri, 03/19/2021 - 16:27

Voice of America (09.03.2021) Gyeonggi Province has  sent cash to all its residents during the coronavirus pandemic — on top of the stimulus payments the central government has given South Koreans.  

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Topics
Cash transfers
Document Type

South Korea: Employment insurance program to expand to artists starting Thursday

Submitted by siha on Thu, 12/10/2020 - 16:15

Naver (09.12.2020) South Korea will extend its state employment insurance program to artists starting Thursday as the first step toward expanding coverage to all workers by 2025. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that artists under work contracts who earn monthly income of at least 500,000 won ($460) will be eligible for coverage under the amended Employment Insurance Act. 

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Topics
Employment of young workers
Extension of coverage
COVID-19
Document Type

Korea: NHIS extends COVID-19 relief to foreign residents

Submitted by mmarquez on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 15:41

koreaherald.com (11.04.2020) Foreign subscribers of South Korea’s national health insurance are eligible for premium assistance in a COVID-19 bailout, the state health care service said Saturday. From July 16, 2019, foreign residents staying over six months are required to enroll in the national health insurance plan. Previously, the subscription was optional for those staying longer than three months. As of last year, the number of foreign subscribers to the national health insurance plan reached 1,212,475.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Health
Health insurance
Contribution collection and compliance
Financing

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Document Type

Korea: Temporary reduction of contribution rates to health insurance

Submitted by mmarquez on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 15:36

koreaherald.com (11.03.2020) The National Health Insurance Service said the lower 20 percent of the income bracket will receive about 30 to 50 percent reduction in premiums from March through May. For the worst-affected Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province’s Gyeongsan, Cheongdo and Bonghwa, the bottom half of income earners will be given the partial premium waivers. The lowered payments are a part of Korea’s disaster relief subsidy plan announced March 30 to cushion financial blow from the outbreak for the financially vulnerable.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Health
Contribution collection and compliance
Financing

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Document Type

Korea: Classification of severity of infections to distribute attention to COVID-19 patients

Submitted by mmarquez on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 15:13

wwwnc.cdc.gov (17.09.2020) The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) classified the severity of COVID-19 into very severe, severe, mild, and asymptomatic (15) (Appendix Table 1). Mild COVID-19 is defined as alert and meeting >1 of the following conditions: <50 years old, >1 underlying conditions, and temperature <38°C with antipyretic drugs. Asymptomatic is defined as a patient who is alert, <50 years old, has no underlying disease, is a nonsmoker, and has a temperature of <37.5°C without antipyretic drugs.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Health
Health insurance
Document Type

Korea: Text alerting on COVID-19 outbreak areas/zones

Submitted by mmarquez on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 15:05

sciencedirect.com (05.05.2020) One of the most effective ways that the Korean government rapidly dispersed these daily updates is emergency SMS messages. All citizens receive daily alert messages through their mobile phones from their local authorities. The alert message arrives with a 40–60 db alarm sound, and contains information from KCDC about newly confirmed patients and their recent trajectories if available.

Regions / Country
korea, Republic of
Global challenges
Topics
Health promotion
Health insurance
E-services
Communication
Document Type