Joo Hyung-hwan Meets SMEs, "We Will Firmly Support Companies Participating in Work-Family Balance"

(Photo by Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee)

Joo Hyung-hwan, Vice Chairman of the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee (LFASC), promised to "firmly support the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) arising from work-family balance policies" and urged companies to actively engage in work-family balance.

On the 15th, Vice Chairman Joo held a meeting with SMEs at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Finding Solutions for Work-Family Balance to Overcome Low Birthrates," and made these remarks.

The meeting was attended by about 10 SME-related associations and organizations, including the Korea Federation of SMEs, Korea Women Venture Association, IT Women Entrepreneurs Association, Korea Women Entrepreneurs Association, Korea Venture Capital Association, and Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise.

At the meeting, Vice Chairman Joo met with the SME sector as a follow-up measure to the announcement of the "Measures to Reverse the Low Birthrate Trend," explained the government's new policies, and listened to the difficulties and opinions of the SME sector regarding work-family balance, a core area of the measures.

LFASC and the SME sector agreed to cooperate in responding to low birthrates and decided to continue discussing ways to promote a culture and system of work-family balance within companies while collaborating in the future implementation of low birthrate policies.

The SME association heads attending the meeting welcomed the changed government policies but emphasized that government support is necessary for companies to actively participate in the policies.

Vice Chairman Joo stated, "SMEs are the source of jobs, creating 99.9% of all companies and 81% of total employment in our country, and the foundation of the national economy," promising firm support for SMEs, which inevitably find it burdensome to introduce work-family balance systems.

He added, "Not only the policies announced this time but also through budget restructuring, we will secure funds and devise additional support measures for difficulties arising during field implementation," and affirmed, "We will firmly reward companies that actively participate in overcoming low birthrates and create a structure where work-family balance can also benefit companies."

LFASC plans to expand practical incentives along with awarding family-friendly excellent companies and to continuously strengthen customized support related to securing substitute personnel or introducing flexible work systems for SMEs facing difficulties.

Vice Chairman Joo said, "Since the low birthrate issue is difficult to solve by government efforts alone, close cooperation and complementary roles with the SME sector are very important," and added, "Given the high proportion of SMEs in our economy, if the proven effective work-family balance culture for overcoming low birthrates spreads widely among SMEs, it will greatly help reverse the low birthrate trend."

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