Unemployment benefits are a natural right of workers who have worked diligently... no foreigner can receive them!

The number of foreigners who have received unemployment benefits more than twice in Korea has more than tripled in five years.

Unemployment benefits are government insurance that workers who paid employment insurance while working can receive if they lose their jobs. However, in Korea, it is becoming a problem because there are Koreans who do not work properly, repeatedly working and quitting, and receiving unemployment benefits multiple times.

Status of unemployment benefits for foreigners

According to data received from the Ministry of Employment and Labor by National Assembly member Kim So-hee (Environment and Labor Committee), the number of foreign workers who received unemployment benefits last year was 12,643, and the total amount paid was 80.88 billion won.

Among them, the number of foreign workers who received benefits more than twice was 2,010, which is more than three times the number in 2018 (651 people), five years ago.

The number of foreigners who have received unemployment benefits more than twice is ▲651 people in 2018 ▲916 people in 2019 ▲1,603 people in 2020 ▲1,671 people in 2021 ▲1,727 people in 2022 ▲2,010 people in 2023, and it is increasing every year.

Accordingly, the amount of unemployment benefits received last year by foreigners who received unemployment benefits more than twice was found to be 11.7 billion won. This is a nearly 5-fold increase from 2.5 billion won in 2018.

The number of foreigners who received unemployment benefits three or more times reached 248. The number of foreigners who received payments three or more times in 2018 was 105, which will increase by nearly 2.5 times in 2023.

The foreign worker who has received the most unemployment benefits to date received a total of 49.05 million won over 10 installments.

If you are unemployed, receive unemployment benefits

Looking at foreigners who received unemployment benefits by nationality, among the 12,643 foreigners eligible for unemployment benefits last year, Korean-Chinese accounted for the largest number at 7,862, followed by Chinese people (1,718). These account for 75% of the total.

It is a natural right for foreign workers who lose their jobs while working at a company to receive unemployment benefits. Therefore, there is no need to look at it with colored glasses because foreigners receive unemployment benefits. However, Korean society is concerned that foreigners may be receiving unemployment benefits repeatedly.

Most foreign workers work diligently, so there is no need to worry about these concerns. Rather, we should carefully look into whether there are cases where people are eligible to receive unemployment benefits but are not receiving them.

Representative Kim So-hee said, “The number of foreigners receiving unemployment benefits repeatedly is rapidly increasing,” and pointed out, “There is a need for institutional improvements, such as strengthening the conditions for receiving unemployment benefits, to prevent cases of abuse of the unemployment benefit system.”

Meanwhile, in order to prevent repeated receipt of unemployment benefits, the Korean government is seeking to revise the law to reduce the payment amount for recipients who received unemployment benefits three or more times in five years and reapplied.

Mary Eve of Papaya Story