코로나19 팬데믹이 촉발한 대규모 실업으로 소득급감과 소득단절이 일어나고 있고, 이는 다시 재난의 불평등―이른바 ‘팬데믹 카스트 제도(pandemic caste system)’의 출현―을 야기 하고 있다. 방역에 성공했다고 평가받는 한국도 예외는 아니어서 코로나19발 고용충격으로 심한 몸살을 앓고 있다. 이에 문재인 정부는 2020년 12월 고용안전망 개혁을 단행하여 ‘전국 민고용보험’과 ‘국민취업지원제도’의 시행에 들어갔다. 기존에 유일한 고용안전망이었던 고용보험제도는 사각지대가 넓어서 코로나19발 고용충격을 제대로 흡수하지 못했기 때문이다. 특히, 임시·일용직, 간접고용노동자, 특수고용노동자, 영세자영업자 등 불안정 노동자들이 실업급여의 혜택을 전혀 보지 못하는 것이 큰 문제가 됐다. 코로나19 때문이기는 하나 전국민고용보험과 국민취업지원제도의 시행은 한국 복지정책사에 결코 작지 않은 의미를 지닌다. 이들 제도의 시행을 통해 비로소 한국이 ‘중층적 고용안전망’―1차 고용안전망(사회보험인 고 용보험)과 2차 고용안전망(공공부조인 실업부조)을 모두 완비한―을 가진 나라가 됐기 때문 이다. 따라서 이 논문에서는 코로나19를 계기로 단행된 한국 고용안전망 개혁의 현황과 특성에 대해서 다루고자 한다. 구체적으로, 코로나19 이전에 유일한 고용안전망이었던 고용보험 제도의 특성과 한계에 대해서 살펴본 다음, 코로나19 이후 새로 시행된 전국민고용보험과 국민취업지원제도를 검토하여 한국 고용안전망의 개혁 현황과 특성에 대해서 살펴보고자 한다.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs, leading to a sharp income decrease and income stoppage among them. This, in return, has brought about the unfairness of disaster, the emergence of a so-called ‘pandemic caste system’. South Korea, though regarded as a country successful with a stable preventive system, is no exception and is indeed suffering from the unemployment shock triggered by Covid-19. Accordingly, Moon Jae-in government carried out decisive actions on reforming the employment safety net in December 2020, which put ‘National Employment Insurance’ and ‘National Support for Employment’ into effect. This was because the Unemployment Insurance Scheme, which previously had been the only employment safety net in South Korea, had too many welfare blind spots and, thus, could not deal with the unemployment shock triggered by Covid-19. The most concerning issue of all was to do with the fact that many precarious workers such as temporary/day, or indirectly employed workers, especially special employment workers (dependent self-employed workers) and self-employed, small business owners, were not getting any benefit from unemployment benefits. The enforcement of ‘National Employment Insurance’ and ‘National Support for Employment’, though they came about because of the Covid-19 pandemic, has great significance in the history of welfare policies in South Korea. By enforcing these two, South Korea has finally become a country that has the ‘dual’ employment safety net―has both the first employment safety net (employment insurance as a social insurance) and the secondary employment safety net (unemployment assistance as a public assistance). Therefore, this study will look at the current status and characteristics of reform on the employment safety net in South Korea, which was enforced mainly because of Covid-19. More specifically, the study will look at the limits and characteristics of the Employment Insurance, which had been the only employment safety net before Covid-19 and will review the newly enforced National Employment Insurance and National Support for Employment, while examining the current status and characteristics of the reform on the employment safety net in South Korea.

FOREWORD
THE EMPLOYMENT SAFETY NET IN SOUTH KOREABEFORE COVID-19: THE FAULTY EMPLOYMENTINSURANCE SCHEME AS A SOCIAL SAFETY NET
    The Employment Insurance Scheme and the Process of Its Development
    The Characteristics of Employment Insurance Scheme
    Problems with the Employment Insurance Scheme: A Faulty EmploymentSafety Net That Allows Too Many Exceptions
CHANGES THE COVID-19 HAS BROUGHT TO THEEMPLOYMENT SAFETY NET IN SOUTH KOREA:THE CURRENT STATUS OF REFORM
    Reform on the First Employment Safety Net: Implementing ‘NationalEmployment Insurance’ to Reduce Blind Spots
    Implementation of Secondary Employment Safety Net: Introducing‘National Support for Employment (Unemployment Assistance)’ forVulnerable Groups
IN THE PLACE OF CONCLUSION:CHALLENGES LYING AHEAD
REFERENCES
국문초록

• Bo-young Park(Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social Welfare, Far East University, Eumseong, South Korea) | 박보영