Four out of 10 life planners in South Korea may lose their jobs once employment insurance becomes mandatory for employees with jobs categorised as "special labour" in South Korea.

In July, the Ministry of Employment and Labour adopted a policy to have chauffeurs, quick delivery drivers, life planners, homeschool teachers, caddies, and other jobs classified as “special labour” in South Korea. The aim is to enable them to subscribe to employment insurance so that they can receive unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs, reports Korea Bizwire.

Professor Lee Ji-man of Yonsei University has carried out a study on the social and economic impact of mandatory social insurance on “special labour” jobs. The findings are that 157,000 out of 400,000 life planners could lose their jobs as a consequence.

He argued that that mandatory social insurance will lead to higher operating costs for insurance companies, which will in turn result in layoffs.