81,000 non-public fixed-route bus or chartered bus drivers eligible for the relief fund
From the end of March, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT, Minister NOH Hyeong-ouk) plans to roll out a special COVID-19 relief fund to bus drivers allocated under the first round of national supplementary budget in 2022.
Details such as the eligibility requirements and application procedure will be announced on Friday, March 4, at the same time nationwide on the website of each local government.
Drivers of non-public fixed-route buses* or chartered buses who have been in service for 60 days or more as of the date of announcement, March 4, (started working before or on January 3) are eligible to receive KRW 1 million per person** as the special relief fund, if they can prove that their income has decreased due to COVID-19.
* Non-public city/town/inter-city/express/airport buses
** Recognizing severe difficulties faced by bus drivers, MOLIT is considering the provision of an additional support fund of KRW 500 thousand per person, apart from the KRW 1 million special relief fund provided under the national supplementary budget.
Eligible bus drivers can submit an application to the local government directly or through the applicant’s company from March 14 (Mon) to March 18 (Fri), and documentary evidence proving the employment period (60 days or more) and decline in income must be submitted with the application.
The eligibility of the applicants will be checked based on the submitted documents after the application deadline. Applicants who meet the requirements will be confirmed as recipients of the special relief fund. After confirmation of the recipients, MOLIT plans to start the rollout of the fund from the end of March in close collaboration with local governments.
MOLIT Director General for Comprehensive Transport Policy Yoon Jin-hwan said, "The prolonged pandemic situation has been affecting the livelihood of bus drivers. We will work closely with local governments to provide the special relief fund to the drivers as quickly as possible, in order to ensure stable provision of bus services to the public.“
Please refer to the attached PDF.