Creating 1,150 Jobs... Busan City Invests 7.5 Billion KRW for Employment Stability in Western Busan Area

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan City is set to actively create jobs by investing a total of 7.5 billion KRW to stabilize employment in the western Busan area.

On the 7th, the city signed an agreement with the Ministry of Employment and Labor for the ‘Western Busan Parts Industry Job Re-Start (Employment Stability Preemptive Response Package Project)’ and will begin full-scale implementation of the project.

The Employment Stability Preemptive Response Package Project is designed to support employment stability in regions facing employment crises by facilitating new industry transitions and supporting reemployment for the unemployed and retirees.

The western Busan area, including Saha-gu, Gangseo-gu, and Sasang-gu, is home to about 70% of Busan’s manufacturing companies and workers, and about 80% of the industrial complexes. The region is facing concerns over worsening employment due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn.

To create jobs, the city will form a consortium with the three western Busan districts?Saha-gu, Gangseo-gu, and Sasang-gu?and invest a total of 7.5 billion KRW, including 5.8 billion KRW in national funds.

In addition to the existing Saha-gu center, employment support centers will be operated in Sasang-gu Job Center and Gangseo-gu Industrial Complex Management Office to provide employment services tailored to the characteristics of each region.

For machinery parts companies in the western Busan area, a total of 1,150 jobs will be supported through the ‘Employment Contract-Type Corporate Support Project.’

The ‘Employment Contract-Type Corporate Support Project’ will be carried out through four detailed sub-projects.

Key projects include ▲support for smart factory advancement and upgrading (support scale: 40 companies, 11.5 million KRW per company) ▲export support (40 companies, 12.5 million KRW per company) ▲work environment system improvement support (35 companies, 3.4 million KRW per company) and good workplace consulting ▲support for hiring specialized personnel for R&D and commercialization related to new growth jobs (100 people, 8.4 million KRW per person, up to 5 people per company).

For workers experiencing employment crises, ‘specialized technical training’ and ‘employment incentives’ upon successful employment after training completion will be provided.

Specific measures include ▲operation of the ‘Western Busan Employment Stability Job Support Center’ offering customized employment support services by professional career counselors ▲psychological stability and career exploration programs for retired (or soon-to-retire) workers, specialized technical training in tailored shipbuilding equipment special welding, electromechanics, mold design, electric vehicles, automation robots, LNG fuel supply, etc. ▲employment incentives of 1.5 million KRW for new hires working more than three months at centers in the western Busan area including the basic center, supporting up to 300 people.

The city aims to invest a total of 40 billion KRW from 2021 to 2025 to create about 5,500 jobs to stabilize employment in the western Busan parts industry. In the first year of implementation last year, about 800 jobs were created.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “Busan will take the lead in creating a pioneering model that strengthens the competitiveness of the western Busan parts industry, which forms the foundation of Busan’s manufacturing, and creates quality jobs by synergizing regional industrial and employment policies as a single package.”

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