On Labor Day... Opposition Party Urges Government to Acknowledge Job Policy Failures and Take Action

People Power Party: "Temporary employment policies pouring in taxes are not acceptable"
People Party: "Must move away from short-term job creation policies"

President Moon Jae-in is talking with workers at the completion ceremony held at Gwangju Global Motors in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City on the afternoon of the 29th. April 29, 2021 [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] On the occasion of Labor Day on the 1st, the opposition parties urged the government to acknowledge the failure of job policies led by the government and to strive to create quality jobs in line with market principles.

Kim Yeryeong, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that "due to the prolonged economic recession, employment cold wave, still poor working conditions, and risks of industrial accidents, workers' lives are being threatened," adding, "In the unprecedented employment cold wave and the rapidly changing labor market, a shift in thinking and awakening are needed not only from the government but from all political circles."

Spokesperson Kim criticized the government's job policy as a temporary employment measure that blindly pours in taxes. Kim emphasized, "Over the past four years, more than 100 trillion won has been invested in job budgets, but the unemployment rate has hit record highs every year," and added, "We need to expand the scope of corporate activities through deregulation and labor reform so that companies can create jobs." He also said, "We must put our heads together on fundamental measures that allow new occupational groups of the 4th Industrial Revolution era, special employment workers, and non-regular workers who are not protected under current laws to work with peace of mind," and "We will take the lead in creating an environment where companies can create quality jobs and in protecting workers' rights and improving working conditions."

Ahn Hyejin, spokesperson for the People's Party, stated, "To revitalize the labor market, which has been stagnated due to COVID-19 and government incompetence, the government must first acknowledge policy failures and move away from radical labor policies that ignore market principles," and insisted, "Especially, it must move away from policies that focus only on short-term job creation using taxes to ease short-term indicators."

Spokesperson Ahn also said, "We must devote ourselves to developing future growth engines in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era," and "We need to revitalize the labor market through job creation via private sector innovation and improvement of the corporate environment." She added, "The People's Party will take the lead in addressing job issues by preparing alternatives and various legislation and in-depth policies," and "We will improve the quality of life through better working environments for workers to create a country full of joy and happiness in labor, where workers are rewarded."

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