By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye called on the National Assembly, Tuesday, to approve Prime Minister nominee Hwang Kyo-ahn so that she can pursue political and social reform.
"The government is attempting to revive the economy, reform four sectors and eradicate corruption, and these are not only the people's demand but an issue to decide the nation's future," Park said in a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. The four sectors are labor, education, finance and the civil servants' pension.
"For the nominee to carry out such important tasks, I urge the National Assembly to endorse him at his confirmation hearing," she added.
Park named the former justice minister last Thursday to replace Lee Wan-koo, who stepped down due to alleged involvement in a bribery scandal.
The President's appeal came as the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) criticized Hwang for his "unfair" handling of a recent corruption probe involving some of President Park's close aides.
Cheong Wa Dae hopes the parliamentary process will be finished before Park's trip to the United States for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama in mid-June.
Later in the day, the presidential office sent a motion asking for Hwang's confirmation hearing to the National Assembly.
The parliament is required to complete confirmation hearings within 15 days after a request is made and submit the result to the National Assembly speaker for a vote within three days after they are finished.
At the same time, Park reiterated her call for the Assembly to pass the long-stalled bill to reform the civil servants' pension during the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly that ends Thursday, while stressing the importance of reforming the stiff labor market to create jobs for the young.
The overhauls of the debt-laden civil service pension and the labor market are key issues for the Park administration.
"Although the nation's employment trend has shown a gradual improvement, on the contrary that of young adults is getting worse," Park said.
Statistics Korea announced earlier this month that the unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 29 was 10.2 percent in April, compared with the overall jobless rate of 3.9 percent. In addition, April's tally was the highest since March 1999.
"It is inevitable to reform the labor market to offer more jobs for young people," she added.
Currently, the government is pushing the "peak wage system" that it believes is essential to tackle the youth unemployment problem.
The system offers a job security guarantee, but gradually cuts the salary for older employees after a certain age.
"By expanding the peak wage system to the public sector, the government can encourage the private sector to accept the job-sharing measure," Park said.
President Park Geun-hye called on the National Assembly, Tuesday, to approve Prime Minister nominee Hwang Kyo-ahn so that she can pursue political and social reform.
"The government is attempting to revive the economy, reform four sectors and eradicate corruption, and these are not only the people's demand but an issue to decide the nation's future," Park said in a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. The four sectors are labor, education, finance and the civil servants' pension.
"For the nominee to carry out such important tasks, I urge the National Assembly to endorse him at his confirmation hearing," she added.
Park named the former justice minister last Thursday to replace Lee Wan-koo, who stepped down due to alleged involvement in a bribery scandal.
The President's appeal came as the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) criticized Hwang for his "unfair" handling of a recent corruption probe involving some of President Park's close aides.
Cheong Wa Dae hopes the parliamentary process will be finished before Park's trip to the United States for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama in mid-June.
Later in the day, the presidential office sent a motion asking for Hwang's confirmation hearing to the National Assembly.
The parliament is required to complete confirmation hearings within 15 days after a request is made and submit the result to the National Assembly speaker for a vote within three days after they are finished.
At the same time, Park reiterated her call for the Assembly to pass the long-stalled bill to reform the civil servants' pension during the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly that ends Thursday, while stressing the importance of reforming the stiff labor market to create jobs for the young.
The overhauls of the debt-laden civil service pension and the labor market are key issues for the Park administration.
"Although the nation's employment trend has shown a gradual improvement, on the contrary that of young adults is getting worse," Park said.
Statistics Korea announced earlier this month that the unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 29 was 10.2 percent in April, compared with the overall jobless rate of 3.9 percent. In addition, April's tally was the highest since March 1999.
"It is inevitable to reform the labor market to offer more jobs for young people," she added.
Currently, the government is pushing the "peak wage system" that it believes is essential to tackle the youth unemployment problem.
The system offers a job security guarantee, but gradually cuts the salary for older employees after a certain age.
"By expanding the peak wage system to the public sector, the government can encourage the private sector to accept the job-sharing measure," Park said.
