[Edaily Reporter NOH HEE JUN ] It has been confirmed that the “climate insurance” program, which the government plans to introduce to compensate outdoor workers for heat-related injuries, has not been allocated a single won in next year’s government budget proposal. Concerns are mounting that the program may be doomed from the start due to the ministries’ complacent response.

On the 18th, People Power Party Rep. Kim Ki-hyun (Ulsan Nam-gu B), a member of the National Assembly’s Climate, Energy, Environment, and Labor Committee, analyzed “Materials Related to the 2027 Climate Insurance Pilot Project” submitted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the Climate Ministry). The analysis revealed that it was revealed that the climate insurance pilot project, which the Ministry of Climate, Energy, Environment intended to launch next year, was deemed “ineligible” twice during the eligibility review for state-subsidized projects, resulting in not a single won being allocated in the government’s budget proposal. Consequently, concerns are mounting that the project may be doomed to failure from its very first year due to the Ministry’s inadequate preparation.

Climate insurance is a system that compensates for health and income losses caused by climate disasters, such as heat waves and cold snaps, through insurance. With heat waves becoming more frequent recently, work stoppages resulting from them have led to income losses for outdoor workers, such as daily construction workers, prompting strong calls for measures to address the issue. In response, the National Assembly passed the “Act on Climate Crisis Adaptation and Strengthening Resilience,” which establishes the institutional framework for climate insurance, during a plenary session on August 26.

With the legal framework now in place, the Ministry of Climate has also planned to launch a pilot program starting next year targeting approximately 13,300 outdoor workers—including those in public construction—to compensate for a portion of their lost income at a rate of 50,000 won per day for up to 14 days in the event of work stoppages caused by heat waves or similar conditions. To this end, the Ministry requested a total of 5 billion won in the 2027 budget, including 4.7 billion won for the insurance program and 300 million won for research on operations and performance management.

The problem is that during the first-round eligibility review of national subsidy projects conducted by the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the project was deemed “ineligible in terms of necessity and effectiveness.” Critics pointed out that it was difficult to consider the legal basis secured solely through the legislation then under proposal, and that insurance payouts could conflict with the “no work, no pay” principle. Furthermore, concerns were raised that since the program was designed to require a 50% contribution from local governments, participation would depend on the financial conditions of each municipality, potentially excluding vulnerable areas from the program.

The Ministry of Climate Change requested a second review, providing additional explanations regarding relevant legislative trends, the need to introduce insurance for outdoor workers, and the basis for calculating the national subsidy rate; however, the result was again “ineligible.” In the second review, it was determined that the framework for collaboration and accountability with relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor, was unclear, and that the project’s target audience and roadmap needed to be further specified based on research by the Insurance Research Institute and the results of a similar insurance project operated by Jeju Province.

Previously, during last year’s budget formulation, the Ministry of Climate had requested 10 billion won but ultimately saw only 300 million won allocated for research services, citing insufficient preparation. Despite this, it is reported that the Ministry of Climate intends to pursue securing the budget once again through a National Assembly appropriation increase. Critics point out that the ministry will find it difficult to avoid criticism for shifting responsibility to the National Assembly after failing to properly prepare the project and thus failing to even pass the eligibility review.

Rep. Kim pointed out, “Climate insurance is a system that provides tangible assistance to ‘climate-vulnerable groups’—people who face immediate financial hardship when work comes to a halt due to heat waves—and has been under discussion for a long time.” He added, “Although both the government and the National Assembly agreed on its necessity and established a legal framework in the National Assembly, the government itself neglected to properly formulate the project plan, resulting in it being deemed ineligible twice.”

He continued, “This problem stems from a complacent assumption that the budget would naturally be allocated simply because the law was passed by the National Assembly; the fact that the same thing happened again last year is an even bigger issue.” He emphasized, “Through ongoing consultations with the Ministry of Climate Change, we will promptly address the issues revealed during the review process, and if there are areas that need attention during the National Assembly’s budget increase process, we will actively review them.”