Government to Accelerate Execution of 700,000 Direct Jobs Before and After Seollal Holiday

Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting Announces 'Job Project Promotion Direction'
97% of Total Direct Jobs to be Hired Early in the First Half
67% of Budget for Preemptive Response to Real Estate PF Risk to be Executed in the First Half

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik is reporting on work at the hearing on industrial accidents of DL Group and SPC Group held at the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee on the 1st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The government has decided to hire 1,142,000 people early in the first half of this year, accounting for 97% of the total number of direct job projects. The purpose is to secure a safety net for vulnerable groups by injecting funds early to stabilize their livelihoods and respond to employment uncertainties.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor reported the '2024 Job Project Promotion Direction' containing this content at the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office.

This year's budget for financially supported job projects is 29.2 trillion won, a 3.8% decrease compared to the previous year. Financially supported job projects refer to systems that directly or indirectly support employment by spending funds, including not only direct jobs but also projects such as expanding work experience and subsidy support. The total job budget showed an increasing trend until 2022 due to fiscal expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic but turned to a decreasing trend last year and this year.

The government selected 128 out of 161 total job projects this year (29.2 trillion won) as priority management projects, with a budget of 14.9 trillion won. Among these, the goal is to execute 5.5 trillion won (37%) in the first quarter and 10 trillion won (67%) within the first half of the year.

A government official stated, "There are more than 500 partner companies of Taeyoung Construction, which recently entered workout (corporate financial restructuring)," adding, "To proactively respond to risks such as Taeyoung Construction and real estate project financing (PF) risks, we will execute job projects early in the first half and conduct focused monitoring."

More than 700,000 people, including elderly jobs, will be hired early around the Lunar New Year holiday. The government plans to hire 630,000 elderly job positions, 40,000 in self-support projects, and 35,000 in elderly customized care services.

Meanwhile, regarding youth jobs, the government plans to expand customized employment services from the high school stage and expand work experience programs considering the hiring trend that emphasizes job experience. In addition, to enable youth to challenge national technical qualification exams without burden, 50% of the exam fees will be supported, and training for prospective hires will be expanded.

Furthermore, support will be provided to activate flexible work styles such as telecommuting and staggered commuting hours, and the parental leave period will be extended from one year to one and a half years if both parents use more than three months of parental leave.

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