The Ministry of Employment and Labor (Minister Kim Young-hoon) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Han Sung-sook) are accepting applications from August 19 (Tue) to September 15 (Mon) for the selection of the “2026 Youth Job Small but Strong Enterprises.”
The Youth Job Small but Strong Enterprise project has been promoted since 2016 to discover excellent small and medium-sized enterprises that young people desire and to provide quality job information. From last year, it has been expanded and reorganized in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to select companies with youth-friendly working conditions and corporate competitiveness, and to strengthen government support.
The project strictly excludes companies with disqualifications such as industrial accidents, wage arrears, etc., and selects only companies that meet the basic job level that should be guaranteed to youth, so that young people can find employment with confidence. Disqualifications include unpaid national and local taxes, public disclosure of employers with back wage lists, publication of accident lists, confirmed unfair dismissal, punishment and fines for workplace harassment and sexual harassment, unreported employment rules, violation of recruitment procedure laws, credit rating below BB-, being part of a mutual investment limitation group, and other excluded industries.
The eligible applicants are companies classified as priority-support enterprises under the “Employment Insurance Act” or as small and medium enterprises under the “Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises”. Applications are submitted through the Youth Job Small but Strong Enterprise website. Application companies go through document review and on-site inspection, with final selection occurring at the end of December, and selected companies will receive various government benefits from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028, for a total of three years.
Selected companies will receive support such as recruitment support and company promotion, financial and fiscal support, exclusion from tax investigations, preferential contracts for shared property and reduced usage fees, additional points for selection as a military service designated company, training cost support, and additional points in various government projects.
The main support includes providing recruitment information through Hire24, producing company promotion videos, offering preferential guarantee rates and fees for special loans with Shinhan Bank, supporting up to 40 million won for items that prevent accidental deaths in workplaces with less than 50 employees, additional points for selection as a military service designated company, and approximately 50% discount on training costs.
Additionally, companies participating in various government projects, such as work-study parallel companies, family-friendly companies, and leisure-friendly companies, are favored, and they can also receive benefits like employment stability incentives and technology guarantees for job creation companies.
Lee Jeong-han, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, “This project is a great opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises equipped with working conditions that meet the standards of young people to promote themselves and hire outstanding talent,” and added, “The government will continue to disseminate quality job information to job-seeking youth and continuously improve the working conditions of small and medium-sized enterprises.”