The number of South Koreans applying for unemployment benefit (also dubbed job seekers’ allowance) have rapidly increased in the wake of widespread small business closures and rising jobless rates. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the unemployment rate as of April 2019 came to 4.4 percent, higher than the 3.8 percent recorded both in April 2014 and April 2009. According to the Korea Employment Information Service, the government’s monthly payment of unemployment allowances reached 770.4 billion won ($649.8 million) in April. This is the highest since the nation began to release figures on the payments in 1997. Read More