Finance Minister vows to solve unemployment, unequal income distribution issues at economic-related ministers' meeting

  • 6 years ago
Unemployment, sluggish job growth and a widening wealth gap.
Problems Korea has been facing for some time now.
Which is why Korea's top economic policymakers met to work on turning things around, with renewed determination.
Ko Roon-hee starts us off with the highlights from that session.
South Korea's finance chief says the government will do its utmost to resolve high unemployment and uneven income distribution in the country.
At an economic-related ministers' meeting on Monday, Kim Dong-yeon said job data and unequal income distribution have worsened and he vowed to swiftly implement policies announced in July and August to support the self-employed and those in the lower income classes.

The policymakers also discussed measures to create jobs for people in their 50s and 60s.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it will make more people in that age group eligible for the government's employment subsidies.
The subsidies took effect this January,... providing around three-hundred-fifty U.S. dollars a month to medium-sized companies and seven-hundred-and twenty dollars to small firms when they hire a person in their 50s or 60s.
And they get the benefit for up to a year.
The ministry said it will raise the number of people on the program within this year from the current 2-thousand to 3-thousand… and, by next year, to 5-thousand.
The subsidy will also cover 29 additional types of work compared to when it started.
The plan is to spend, in total, around 24-point-6 million U.S. dollars next year.

The chiefs of economy-related ministries also vowed to increase investment in social overhead capital related to people's everyday lives.
This means building more cultural, sports, and welfare facilities for job creation and expanding the number of urban regeneration projects in parts of the country that are more run-down.
The government believes this will not only stimulate regional economies but also improve people's quality of life.
For those projects, next year's budget will include around 7-point-81 billion U.S. dollars,… which is a fifty-percent increase from this year.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.

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