“Youth Speak, District Mayor Responds”... Park Seong-su, Songpa District Mayor, Holds 'Job Meeting with Youth'

Songpa-gu Conducts Comprehensive Review of Youth Employment Policies with Young CEOs, Job Seekers, and Youth Committee Members... District Mayor Park Seong-su Pledges "Tailored Services for Young Job Seekers"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su), which implemented the nation’s first local government ‘Coming-of-Age Support Fund’ system and won the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award at the ‘2021 Korea Job Awards,’ held a youth job meeting titled ‘Starting Together with Youth, 2022!’ on the 7th at the ‘Munjeong Biz Valley Job Hub Center.’

Mayor Park Seong-su greeted attendees, saying, “I am pleased to have the first meeting of 2022 with young people here at the ‘Job Hub Center,’ which connects Munjeong Biz Valley, home to over 3,000 new growth engine industries, with young job seekers,” and personally led the meeting.

The event was attended by six young representatives from tenant companies at ‘Munjeong Biz Valley’ and ‘Songpa ICT Youth Startup Support Center,’ who are directly experiencing the current status and vision of Songpa-gu’s youth policies, two resident young job seekers, and four youth committee members active in various committees under Songpa-gu. They openly discussed ideas for policy expansion and civil complaints.

First, the youth representatives emphasized the need to expand startup support spaces, enlarge the ‘Songpa Youth Startup Challenge Project,’ and strengthen networks to share management know-how so that more young people can pursue their dreams.

Mayor Park Seong-su stated, “The ‘Bangidong Youth Hub Building,’ which provides one-stop support including office, meeting, and residential spaces, is currently under construction. Once completed in 2024, it is expected to become a hub for youth jobs in Songpa-gu.

Also, the ‘Songpa Youth Startup Challenge Project,’ a pillar for Songpa-gu’s young entrepreneurs, previously provided only financial support, but from this year, it will offer multifaceted support in terms of networks and infrastructure,” explaining Songpa-gu’s comprehensive youth job support initiatives.

The young job seekers expressed a strong need for mentoring that offers practical skills training and job-seeking know-how to overcome the higher employment barriers in the COVID-19 era.

In response, Mayor Park said, “At 12 ‘Songpa SSEM (Songpa Smart Education Model) Future Education Centers,’ which support lifelong education for Songpa residents, you can receive education related to the 4th Industrial Revolution such as coding and drones. Mentoring is also available from company representatives to experts in various fields, all outstanding talents of Songpa-gu. We will expand Songpa SSEM’s programs to provide customized services for young job seekers.”

The youth committee members expressed hope that more seats for youth will be created in the over 110 various committees under Songpa-gu. Mayor Park replied, “We are specially managing to prioritize youth when appointing new committee members. We will continue to strive to achieve a 15% composition of youth members.”

Finally, Mayor Park said, “I ask for your active participation and interest so that today’s valuable meeting can lead to networking and develop into policies. We will continue to work hard so that youth can become protagonists and directly open the future of Songpa-gu.”

Songpa-gu, which is creating the future together with youth, is implementing measures to support youth employment and startups and expand policy participation, including ▲the nation’s first local government ‘Coming-of-Age Support Fund’ ▲establishment of the public-private youth governance ‘Songpa Youth Network’ and hosting the Songpa youth festival ‘I’m Blank’ ▲job counseling and employment linkage at the ‘Munjeong Biz Valley Job Hub Center’ ▲operation of the ‘Songpa ICT Youth Startup Support Center.’

In 2022, various programs that can bring small happiness and inspiration to daily life will be carried out, such as the ‘Visiting Youth Counseling Village Pocha’ to comfort youth exhausted by COVID-19 blues, the ‘Songpa Youth CEO Forum’ for capacity building and networking of (prospective) youth entrepreneurs active in Songpa, and the operation of ‘Cafe Youth Spring’ to support young artists.

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