Based on the perspective of welfare capitalism, this study proposes a new alternative welfare system that responds to the uniqueness of the Korean socio-economic system. The Korean welfare system is characterized by “regressive selectivity,” in which welfare benefits intended to respond to social risks such as unemployment, illness, and old age are concentrated among those with relatively stable employment and income. In the face of a slowdown in Korea’s potential growth rate and jobless growth, this welfare system is expected to be unsustainable.
Three alternative strategies to overcome the contradictions in the current system were proposed: reorganizing the national employment insurance into an income-based social insurance, expanding the minimum income guarantee for those excluded from social insurance coverage, and establishing an industrial structure and increasing human capital to provide universal social services.