4) The Right to Rest When Sick: Introduction of a Pilot Korean Sickness Allowance A) The Problem of Using Vacation Revealed During COVID-19 Vaccination As the COVID-19 vaccination for all citizens has been implemented since 2021, the Ministry of Employment and Labor recommended the use of vacation for the time required for vaccination on the day of vaccination and the day following the vaccination if there is an adverse reaction after vaccination. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters also announced in Mar. 2021 that it would establish a legal basis to grant workers leave in case of adverse reactions after vaccination.568) However, by 2022, no legal basis has been established to grant workers leave related to vaccinations. Workers at small businesses or temporary workers had difficulty taking a leave or rest, regardless of the regulations.569) Under the current law, for wage workers, short-term leave (sick leave) or long-term leave for non-work injuries or illness is voluntarily determined by the employee and the employer, employment rules and collective agreements. According to a survey by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in 2020, only 21.4% of the workplaces operate a sick leave system for non-work related injuries, regardless of whether they are paid or not. The smaller the workplace (12% with less than 5 employees, 96.7% with 1,000 or more employees) and the non-unionized workplace (19.7% without union, 80.2% with union), the lower the rate of operating sick leave program. In the 21st National Assembly, a number of partial amendments to the Labor Standards Act were proposed to establish new grounds to request leave in the event of a worker's injury or illness. Generally, the proposed bills guarantee workers’ right to use sick leave within a certain scope, with a varying details by each bill, and stipulate that penalties or fines be imposed for employers in case of violation of the law. On the other hand, those who earn income through atypical work or business, such as 568) Ministry of Health and Welfare Press Release, Mar. 28, 2021. 569) According to the MOEL’s ‘2020 Sick Leave Operation Survey,’ even among workers at workplaces with a sick leave system, many of them use annual paid leave for injuries or illnesses of less than one week (60.5%), and exceed the sick leave period. It was found that there is also a risk of job loss (28.6%) if the medical treatment is to be continued. 230