The Seoul Metropolitan Government will recruit participants for the 3rd and 4th cohorts of the '2026 Seoul Career-Up Project' from July 7 to August 18 to help women with career breaks return to economic activity.

This program is designed to help women who have experienced career interruptions or temporarily paused their economic activities due to childbirth, childcare, or family caregiving return to the labor market. The key feature is a one-stop support system that connects everything from reemployment preparation to actual hiring through a three-stage support system: job-seeking support, internships, and employment incentives.

The main support details are as follows.

• *1. Up to 900,000 KRW 'Seoul Career-Up Job-Seeking Support'**
• This is the most popular program, designed to assist with the overall job preparation process.
• Eligibility: Unemployed women aged 30 to 59 residing in Seoul who have experience with marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare, or who are prospective or current caregivers.
• Conditions: Median income must be 150% or below. Participants raising minor children will receive additional points based on the number of children.
• Support Details: Selected participants will receive a total of 900,000 KRW at 300,000 KRW per month for three months. The support funds can be used for job-seeking expenses, including vocational education and training fees, educational equipment purchases, interview preparation costs, and childcare expenses.
• Requirements: Participants must complete job-seeking registration with a women's workforce development institution. Support funds are disbursed only upon fulfilling requirements set by the program, including completion of AI education and vocational training, participation in employment programs, and submission of job-seeking activity reports.

• *2. 'Internship Program' Adding Practical Experience**
• This program is operated to provide actual work experience.
• Eligibility: 150 unemployed or non-business-owning women residing in Seoul with at least one year of work experience.
• Details: Participants are matched with companies operating flexible work arrangements among SMEs in Seoul with five or more regular employees, where they gain practical experience for 2 to 3 months.
• Support Scale: Labor costs for participants are subsidized for companies. The amount is calculated based on this year's Seoul living wage standard (hourly rate of 12,121 KRW, approximately 2.53 million KRW per month).
• Schedule: Detailed schedules for the second-half internship will be announced separately through the Seoul Career-Up website.

• *3. 'Employment Incentive' to Encourage Full-Time Hiring**
• This incentive is designed to encourage active full-time hiring by companies following internships.
• Eligibility: 50 SMEs in Seoul that hire Seoul Career-Up interns (workplaces with 5 or more regular employees enrolled in the four major insurances).
• Support Details: If a company converts a participant to a full-time or contract position of one year or longer after the internship ends and confirms continued employment for at least 3 months, 3 million KRW per person is provided. Payment is made after submitting relevant documents, including employment contracts, through the integrated system and passing an eligibility review.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand the stable return of career-experienced women to the labor market by establishing a support system that spans from job-seeking preparation to work experience and full-time hiring through this project.

[※ This article was written using AI. The program details are summarized based on the Seoul Metropolitan Government announcement. Please be sure to check the latest announcements on the official Seoul Career-Up Project website for detailed eligibility requirements, application schedules, and required documents.]