According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the government paid 1.16 trillion won ($954 million) in benefits to those struggling to find jobs in May, marking a 33.9 percent increase from 758.7 billion won paid in the same month last year.

The May figure marked the first time for the monthly unemployment benefit payments to top 1 trillion won since the introduction of unemployment insurance in 1995. It also marked the highest unemployment rate for four months. (Yonhap)