Where a worker, due to a dispute arising from the termination of an employment contract, petitions the court for labor mediation or files a lawsuit and remains unemployed during such period, and any of the following circumstances applies, the worker may apply to the central competent authority for aid for necessary living expenses during the period of labor mediation and litigation (hereinafter referred to as Living Expenses Aid):
1. Where full legal aid has been granted pursuant to the Legal Aid Act.
2. Where the applicant has been determined upon review to meet the standard for deficiency in financial resources.
3. Where aid has been granted for litigation arising from gender equality in employment disputes pursuant to the Regulations for Providing Legal Aid in Lawsuits Concerning Gender Equality in Employment, and also deficient in financial resources.
4. Where the worker has suffered serious injury as a result of an occupational accident.
The Central Competent Authority shall define the deficiency in financial resources referred to in Subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the preceding paragraph in accordance with the standards for reviewing deficiency in financial resources prescribed in the Legal Aid Act.
The labor mediation motioned or lawsuit filed for the disputes over labor contract termination prescribed in Paragraph 1 includes one of the following situations:
1. Claims for severance or retirement payment (labor pension).
2. Claims for ascertaining the existence of employment relationship.
3. Claims for compensation for occupational accidents from the employer in accordance with related statutes.

A worker shall not concurrently apply for Living Expenses Aid during the period of receiving any of the below benefits:
1. Unemployment benefit, Vocational training living allowances, or temporary work allowance prescribed in the Employment Insurance Act;
2. Injury or sickness benefit prescribed in the Labor Insurance Act or Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act;
3. Living allowance or aids prescribed in the Act for Protecting Worker of Occupational Accidents;
4. Living allowance for vocational training or temporary work allowance under the Employment Service Act.
5. Living allowance for vocational training or temporary work allowance under the Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act.
6. Aids of the same nature from other government agencies.

A worker applying for Living Expenses Aid shall submit the following documents:
1. The application
2. A photocopy of motion for mediation with the date of receipt by the court stated thereon, indictment, oral or written defense statement, or appealing statement.
3. Statement and relevant documents concerning the situation of sufficiency in financial resources of the worker and his/her relatives living in the same domicile, or a photocopy of approval notice of the aid issued in accordance with the Legal Aid Act.
4. Affidavit regarding the necessary living expenses for the worker during the period of labor mediation and litigation.
5. Where persons with disabilities apply for aid in accordance with the proviso of Paragraph 3 of Article 26, they shall also submit the disability certificate issued by the competent social welfare authority.
6. Other documents as specified by the central competent authority.
When a worker applies for the aid in accordance with Subparagraph 3 of Para-graph 1 of Article 23, he/she shall also submit a photocopy of relevant documents granting assistance issued in accordance with the Regulations for Providing Legal Aid in Lawsuits Concerning Gender Equality in Employment.
Persons applying for aids in accordance with Subparagraph 4 of Paragraph 1 of Article 23 are exempt from submitting the documents specified in Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1, and shall submit the Preliminary Analysis Form for Occupational Accident Inspection or the Major Occupational Accident Inspection Report.

The period for receiving Living Expense Aid shall begin in the month in which living expense aid is approved after the petition for labor mediation is filed or a lawsuit is initiated, and shall end in the month in which the labor mediation is concluded, the court judgment becomes final, or a settlement is reached.
Each aid period shall run from the first day of the month to the last day of the month. However, where the aid period overlaps with a previous payment period, the overlapping days shall be deducted.
The standard of Living Expense Aid shall be given an amount equivalent to the sixty percent of insured salary of the first grade in accordance with the Table of Grades of Insured Salary of Labor Insurance; aid shall be provided for a maxi-mum of six months, calculated on a monthly basis, and where the period is less than one month, the amount shall be calculated on a pro rata basis. However, if the worker is aged 45 or older at the time of application, or holds a disability certificate issued by the competent social welfare authority, the maximum aid period may be extended to nine months.
Where, prior to the amendment of these Regulations taking effect on January 1, 2026, a worker has applied to a public employment service institution for job referral, and submits an application for living expense aid within 90 days from the date of such job referral, the method for calculating the aid period for that application shall continue to be governed by the provisions prior to the amendment.

Where an application is made for Living Expenses Aid, aid shall not be granted under any of the following circumstances:
1. The application is inconsistent with subparagraphs prescribed in Paragraph 1 or 3 to Article 23.
2. Any of the circumstances specified in Article 24 applies.
3. The application documents or supporting documents are counterfeit, forged, false or invalid.
4. The labor mediation or litigation will bring no substantial benefit or its winning prospect is apparently none.
5. The requirements set forth in the preceding article are not satisfied.
When the causes for rejecting aids application referred to in the preceding para-graph disappear, the worker may file the application again.
If there is one of the following situations after the application for Living Expenses Aids approved, the aids shall be terminated:
1. The applicant is found not to be qualified as deficiency in financial resources.
2. Any of the circumstances specified in Article 24 applies.

When the application documents for Living Expenses Aids are incomplete and not corrected within a given period after being notified, the application shall be rejected.

When a case of applying for Living Expenses Aids has been approved, the applicant shall prepare and submit receipts for appropriation within thirty days from the date of receiving the notification of approval.

After disbursement has been made in accordance with the preceding article, when any of the situations referred to in Subparagraphs 1 through 3 of Paragraph 1 of Article 27 occurs, the aid shall be revoked or rescinded, and the worker shall be ordered to return the aid amount within a prescribed time limit. If the amount is not returned within the prescribed time limit, it shall be recovered in accordance with the law.
Where a worker falls under any of the circumstances specified in Subparagraphs 1 through 3 of Paragraph 1 of Article 27, the worker shall not apply again for the aid specified in Article 2 within five years from the date on which the aid is revoked or rescinded. However, this shall not apply where the circumstances are not attributable to the worker.

When a case of applying for Living Expenses Aid is ruled by a final judgment of the court that the period of paying wage by the business entity (employer) is overlapping with the period of receiving aid, the worker shall return the total amount of aids within thirty days after receiving the wage.
If the worker fails to return the aids in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the Central Competent Authority shall repeal the original aids approved and order him/her to return the aids within a given period. If the worker does not return within the given period, retrieving measures shall be taken in accordance with related statutes, and he/she shall not be allowed to apply for the aids referred to in Article 2 within five years from the date of repealing the aids.
Where the applicant is unable to refund the Living Expenses Aid specified in the preceding paragraph in a lump sum due to financial hardship, the applicant may apply to the central competent authority for an extension of the repayment period or for installment payments.