President Park Geun-hye has decided to donate 20 million won ($17,000) to a fund aimed at helping young people find jobs, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Wednesday, in a gesture to quell lingering opposition to the government-led labor market reform with a move that will expand to all sectors of society.
Park will also give 20 percent of her monthly salary each month to the fund, Hwang said. Given that Park’s annual remuneration stood at 192 million won last year, her monthly contribution could reach about 3.2 million won.
Hwang and other members of the Cabinet and public organizations will follow suit and make donations, Hwang said.
The move came a day after Park proposed to establish the fund to help create employment opportunities for the young, as she welcomed the landmark labor reform deal reached by the labor, businesses and government.
The decision was seen to sooth the opponents who have criticized the government-initiated measures as favoring the businesses in the name of creating job opportunities for the younger population by loosening employment security of the older demographics.
“We held a meeting of Cabinet members to discuss ways to create the fund and how to use it as directly proposed by President Park as noblesse oblige,” Hwang said.
Members of the ruling Saenuri Party’s Supreme Council including chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung have also decided to join the move that will be further expanded for voluntary participation of all sectors of society.
With the collected funds, a foundation will be established within this year to use the money to support job seekers and create jobs in relation to creative economy, he added.
The unemployment rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 stood at 8 percent in August, down from 9.4 percent a month earlier and the lowest level since October last year. The slight improvement came as students took part-time jobs during the summer break.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said during a separate event that creating full-time jobs for young people is the main goal of an ongoing push to reform South Korea’s labor market.
“What has to be done in the future is more important,” Choi said in a speech at a job fair in the port city of Busan. “The ultimate goal of change is to make it possible for companies to hire young people without worrying about more personnel outlays.”
The labor reform agreement could make it easier for companies to dismiss underperforming workers and alter the rules of employment. It also outlines measures to tackle the nonregular workers issue and bolster unemployment benefits and the country’s social security net.
According to the government and management, greater labor market flexibility can create more openings for young people, who have been hurt by a drop in the number of regular jobs.
The deal, which needs to be approved by lawmakers, also aims to promote the government-initiated wage peak system, which calls for workers nearing retirement age to accept salary cuts with the money saved by this arrangement to be used to hire new employees.
Choi, who doubles as deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, said the National Assembly should support the agreement by passing related laws, with management and labor taking steps to expand employment and labor market flexibility.
For its part, the government will invest resources to strengthen the country’s social security net, he said.
The finance minister further said that the government is committed to supporting programs that link school studies with practical skills that can help young people secure jobs.
From news reports
