Minister Nominee Ahn Kyung-duk of Employment and Labor: "There Are Issues with Job and Youth Perception" (Comprehensive)

April 4 National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee Confirmation Hearing

Minister of Employment and Labor nominee Ahn Kyung-duk attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 4th, adjusting his glasses. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Employment and Labor Minister nominee An Kyung-duk said at the National Assembly confirmation hearing that "there are problems in the parts that young people actually feel" in response to the question, "Has the government's youth employment policy failed?"

On the 4th, An responded this way to a question from Kim Seong-won, a member of the People Power Party, at the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee.

In response to Kim's question on whether the current government is doing well with youth employment policies, he said, "I think the government policy was somewhat accepted by the market until 2018-2019, but it has become very difficult due to the sudden shock of the COVID-19 pandemic."

When Kim asked again if the government policy was a failure, An explained, "I think there are many structural factors such as youth mismatch (imbalance between job supply and demand), wage and working condition gaps between large and small-to-medium enterprises, cyclical factors, and the economic situation due to COVID-19 that are acting in a complex manner."

In response to Kim's repeated criticism, An said, "The government has implemented many policies, but there are some problems in the parts that young people actually feel."

Im Eui-ja, a member of the People Power Party, also demanded the submission of data proving that the government's youth employment policies in 2018-2019 were effective.

Regarding Kim's criticism that the youth's enthusiasm for virtual currency investment is due to the government's failure in employment policy, An said, "I find it difficult to fully agree with that part."

Questions about the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which will be enforced in January next year, also followed. The Act allows for the punishment of management officials in case of serious accidents such as worker fatalities.

In response to Roh Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party, pointing out that serious accidents continue to occur at POSCO, An said, "I think companies that neglect investment in these areas despite having safety capacity should not exist," and added, "I will prepare various measures to thoroughly change awareness and implement them."

He emphasized, "If the purpose of enacting the Serious Accident Punishment Act itself is to focus on preventing serious accidents, I think companies should pay more attention to that part."

Regarding a question from Yoon Mi-hyang of the Democratic Party about the minimum wage increase, An replied, "It is not easy to guarantee the livelihood of low-income workers with the minimum wage policy alone, and various policy packages such as the earned income tax credit and support for small business owners should be well utilized."

In response to Yoon's point that the proportion of female managers and executives in domestic companies is still low, he said he is considering expanding the scope of 'Affirmative Action' measures, which require the proportion of female managers to reach a certain level, from businesses with 500 or more employees to those with 300 or more employees.

Regarding a question from Kim Woong of the People Power Party about whether to raise the employment insurance premium rate, An said, "I am deeply aware that the financial soundness of employment insurance is not good."

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