It’s now officially 2025.
The new year comes with a new set of measures that should make people’s livelihoods better and more fruitful.
Our Lee Soo-jin tells us more.
It’s the new year, which means new policies.
And the ones going into effect in 2025 aim to further improve people’s daily lives.
To tackle the nation’s demographic challenges, the government is implementing several new childcare policies.
Starting January 1st, the maximum monthly pay for childcare leave will go up from 1-point-5 million won, or around 1-thousand-20 U.S. dollars, to 2-point-5 million won.
This means that for the first three months of leave, parents will receive 100 percent of their salary capped at a maximum of around 2-point-5 million won, 2 million won from the fourth to the sixth month, and then 1-point-6 million after the sixth month, which amounts to 23-point-1 million, or nearly 16-thousand dollars per year, at the current exchange rate.
The government is also expanding childcare leave, to go into effect starting February 23, from the current one year to a maximum of a year and a half.
“We asked people what they needed the most and the most common answers that we received were increased childcare leave pay and extended leave periods which is why we have expanded these policies.”
And to decrease the burden felt by companies that need to hire replacement workers, the government is also increasing the subsidy cap to 1-point-2 million won, from the current 800-thousand won per month.
South Korea is also entering the era of the 10-thousand won minimum hourly wage starting January 1st, with it being set at 10-thousand-30 Korean won, or 6-thousand-81 dollars.
This is an increase of 1-point-7 percent from 2024’s minimum hourly wage of 9-thousand 860 won.
For someone who works 40 hours a week, this brings the monthly minimum pay to around 2-point-zero-9 million won.
“So in that regard, the minimum wage is the minimum level to support a consumer’s purchasing power. That is clearly beneficial to industry, manufacturing firms and the economy. As long as the minimum wage is increased, it’s much better for the economy.
And on the industrial front, businesses are on the receiving end of support measures in the new year.
During the first half of the year, the government will cover 70 percent of the rental costs for serving robots and kiosks, for all those models provided to be ones designed to accommodate the elderly and the disabled.
Lee Soo-jin, Arirang News.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=279535
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