"If No Work, Income Is Zero" Special Employment Workers' Appeal Meeting with the Blue House

Job Committee Holds Job Town Hall Meeting to Overcome COVID-19 Crisis
Minister Lee Jae-gap and Chief Hwang Deok-soon Attend... Communication with Job Seekers and Workers
Kim Yong-gi "Reflecting Field Voices in Job Measures... Active Role"

On the 6th, at the KT Building in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Hwang Deok-sun, Senior Secretary for Jobs at the Blue House, delivered a greeting at the "Cheer Up! Republic of Korea Job Town Hall Meeting" hosted by the Jobs Committee. This event was organized to share key achievements such as quantitatively and qualitatively improved employment indicators in the third year of job-centered national administration, and to reflect on-site voices for job measures to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] "If there is no work, income is zero. I want the employment safety net for Special Type Workers (Seugos) to be expanded so that I can receive unemployment benefits."

Learning material teachers and freelancers who are struggling to make a living due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) appealed like this when meeting with government and Blue House officials. This was at the 'Job Townhall Meeting' held by the Presidential Committee on Jobs on the 6th. In response, Kim Yong-gi, Vice Chairman of the Jobs Committee, said, "We will reflect the voices from the field in job policies to ensure they work effectively."

The townhall meeting was held at the KT building in Gwanghwamun to mark the third year of the Moon Jae-in administration, which has proclaimed itself as a 'job government.' It was organized to create "better and more jobs" by incorporating field voices into job policies to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

This event was mainly conducted via video conference as part of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Youth, women, persons with disabilities, Seugos, platform workers, and small business owners participated online. Elderly job participants attended the on-site meeting and engaged in Q&A with Vice Chairman Kim Yong-gi, Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap, and Blue House Chief of Jobs Hwang Deok-soon.

Attendees presented various opinions on the difficulties they are experiencing due to COVID-19 and the government's job policies.

Youth job seekers said, "A significant number of new hires have been suspended, leaving us confused and struggling to make a living," and added, "Public institutions should take the lead in expanding new hires, and the implementation of the National Employment Support System for the unemployed should be expedited."

On the 6th, the "Cheer Up! Republic of Korea Job Town Hall Meeting" hosted by the Job Committee was held via video conference at the KT Building in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul. This event was organized to share major achievements such as quantitatively and qualitatively improved employment indicators in the third year of job-centered national administration, and to reflect on-site voices for job measures to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Riders (delivery workers), whose workload has increased but whose jobs have become high-contact and high-risk, expressed the view that "a safety net to prepare for risks is necessary."

In addition, small business owners facing difficulties in receiving policy funds, heads of Saeil Centers (women’s job centers) complaining about challenges in mediating women’s recruitment and job seeking, and workers at subsidiary-type workplaces for persons with disabilities openly shared their experiences.

Vice Chairman Kim mentioned, "The COVID-19 crisis has emphasized the government's active role in realizing better and more jobs."

He stated that the Jobs Committee will play an active role in reflecting field voices in the job policies announced at last month's Emergency Economic Meeting to ensure they work more effectively.

The job policies announced at the 5th Emergency Economic Meeting on the 22nd of last month included ▲creation of public jobs including safety, health, untact (non-face-to-face), and digital sectors ▲expansion of job safety nets for vulnerable groups ▲Korean-style New Deal and post-COVID measures through large-scale public investment.

Vice Chairman Kim said, "The Jobs Committee will continue to listen to field opinions, carefully analyze and organize the effectiveness of government measures, and devote efforts to developing them so that the public can empathize with and be satisfied."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.