Ministry of Economy and Finance Holds Budget Council Meeting... "Focused Discussion on Employment Safety Net and 4th Industrial Revolution Talent Development"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The government is conducting budget consultations with major ministries focusing on strengthening the employment safety net and nurturing talent to lead the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The Budget Office of the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it will hold budget consultations with major ministries starting from the 3rd. Budget consultations are usually held from early February, where the Budget Office collaborates with related ministries to discuss key investment directions and priorities by sector ahead of establishing the National Fiscal Management Plan and drafting the next year’s budget proposal.

The outcomes discussed here are concretized during the mid-term fiscal management plan review (February to March) and reflected in the budget drafting guidelines (end of March). This year, instead of individual ministry presentations, related ministries will gather to collaboratively plan major new fiscal projects and discuss ways to coordinate ongoing projects.

Additionally, considering the recent COVID-19 situation, the discussions will be held via non-face-to-face video conferences rather than in-person meetings. In line with this direction, the first session on the 3rd and 4th will focus on two high-priority policy agendas: ‘Strengthening the Employment Safety Net and Job Creation’ and ‘Nurturing Talent to Lead the 4th Industrial Revolution.’ The session will be chaired by the Budget Office Director and include first-level officials from related ministries such as the Employment and Labor Ministry’s Policy Office Director and Employment Policy Director, the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Policy Office Director, and the Ministry of Education’s Deputy Minister and Higher Education Policy Office, engaging in in-depth discussions.

At the agenda consultation held on the 3rd, Budget Office Director Ando Geol emphasized, “A solid employment safety net must be the cornerstone for transitioning to a leading economy,” urging that the next year’s budget should focus on financially supporting three major policy tasks: ▲gradual expansion of nationwide employment insurance ▲early stabilization of the National Employment Support System ▲introduction of sickness benefits tailored to Korea’s circumstances.

Director Ando also stated that at the consultation scheduled for the 4th, he will propose three key tasks emphasizing the need to accelerate changes in the financial support paradigm for nurturing innovative talent to lead the 4th Industrial Revolution.

He particularly mentioned the urgent need to cultivate convergence talent to respond to rapidly changing technologies, highlighting the necessity of establishing a cross-ministerial talent nurturing collaboration system rather than individual ministries acting alone. He plans to call for ▲a comprehensive review of currently implemented talent development support programs ▲strategic setting of talent development goals through thorough market research and systematic classification of personnel into advanced, technical, and functional categories ▲maximizing synergy effects through interlinking, combining, and coordinating similar projects ▲and specific improvements to fiscal projects including addressing blind spots. Furthermore, considering the shortage of educational and training resources in the 4th Industrial Revolution technology fields, he will request reorganizing the education and training infrastructure by mobilizing and integrating all human and material resources scattered across companies, universities, and research institutes.

Moreover, given the fierce global competition to secure core future talents in advanced technologies, he will emphasize the importance of not only nurturing domestic talent but also focusing on discovering and planning effective new fiscal support programs to attract global talent, especially in AI and autonomous vehicles.

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