Unemployment benefits paid out last month in South Korea broke a previous record due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Monday, the government paid out one-point-11 trillion won in June, up 62-point-nine percent from 428-point-seven billion won a year ago.

The total amount surpassed the previous record of one-point-06 trillion won paid in May.

The number of people who received the benefits, 711-thousand, was also a record-high.

Aside from the hike in the number of unemployed, the ministry cited the revision to a relevant law, which took effect in October, that allowed a rise in the amount of payments and an extension in the period under which benefits are offered.