By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye will speak to the nation, Thursday, about her intentions for the second half of the year, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday.
"President Park will issue a statement to unveil her plans on how to lead the nation in the second half of this year," presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said in a briefing, without elaborating on the exact details of the statement.
The presidential office said she will not receive questions from reporters.
Park is expected to talk about her push for labor market reform and how to revive the economy, hit hard by the recent outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Park is likely to renew calls for reform, urging unions and opposition parties to join the government's efforts to enhance flexibility. Since April, unions have boycotted a three-way meeting of labor, management and government representatives, denouncing the government-driven reform as a means to oppress workers.
Park is also likely to mention the allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) spied on citizens ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) has urged the President to lead an investigation into the spying scandal. With questions remaining over the issue, Park's weekly approval rating declined more than 2 points from 37.1 percent to 34.9 percent, according to Realmeter, Monday.
In April 2014, Park apologized for the NIS's forging evidence used in charging a North Korean defector with espionage.
It remains to be seen if Park will comment on her pledged special pardons ― especially to jailed business leaders.
As part of resurrecting the economy, Park was leaning toward granting pardons to jailed business heads in celebration of the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule. However, a recent succession row at Lotte Group has raised negative sentiment toward chaebol, or family-controlled conglomerates.
Cheong Wa Dae has remained silent on the issue, saying it is inappropriate to mention a private company's feud.
Diplomatically, Park is also expected to unveil her policy toward North Korea and Japan.
Despite her "ambitious" unification bonanza initiative, the Park administration has yet to show any achievements with Pyongyang.
Days ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Aug. 15 statement to commemorate the end of World War II, Park is likely to renew her calls for Japan to show sincerity to the victims of its sexual enslavement during the war.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Park called for labor market reform to create more jobs for young people.
"As the nation is swiftly becoming an aging society, the government cannot handle youth unemployment alone. In this respect, without labor market reform, the future of youth employment looks murky," Park said during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
It was Park's first official act since she returned from a week-long vacation, Sunday.
"In order to address this urgent issue, we should definitely reform the labor market."
She added that unlike the rapid growth period of the past that could easily churn out jobs for the young, it is now difficult to hire many young people.
As part of its reform plan, the government is pushing a peak wage system that offers a job security guarantee, but gradually cuts the salary for older employees after a certain age.
"The peak wage system, expected to introduce a solid employment structure, is a win-win deal for the older generation and the younger one," Park said.
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| President Park Geun-hye |
"President Park will issue a statement to unveil her plans on how to lead the nation in the second half of this year," presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said in a briefing, without elaborating on the exact details of the statement.
The presidential office said she will not receive questions from reporters.
Park is expected to talk about her push for labor market reform and how to revive the economy, hit hard by the recent outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Park is likely to renew calls for reform, urging unions and opposition parties to join the government's efforts to enhance flexibility. Since April, unions have boycotted a three-way meeting of labor, management and government representatives, denouncing the government-driven reform as a means to oppress workers.
Park is also likely to mention the allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) spied on citizens ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) has urged the President to lead an investigation into the spying scandal. With questions remaining over the issue, Park's weekly approval rating declined more than 2 points from 37.1 percent to 34.9 percent, according to Realmeter, Monday.
In April 2014, Park apologized for the NIS's forging evidence used in charging a North Korean defector with espionage.
It remains to be seen if Park will comment on her pledged special pardons ― especially to jailed business leaders.
As part of resurrecting the economy, Park was leaning toward granting pardons to jailed business heads in celebration of the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule. However, a recent succession row at Lotte Group has raised negative sentiment toward chaebol, or family-controlled conglomerates.
Cheong Wa Dae has remained silent on the issue, saying it is inappropriate to mention a private company's feud.
Diplomatically, Park is also expected to unveil her policy toward North Korea and Japan.
Despite her "ambitious" unification bonanza initiative, the Park administration has yet to show any achievements with Pyongyang.
Days ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Aug. 15 statement to commemorate the end of World War II, Park is likely to renew her calls for Japan to show sincerity to the victims of its sexual enslavement during the war.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Park called for labor market reform to create more jobs for young people.
"As the nation is swiftly becoming an aging society, the government cannot handle youth unemployment alone. In this respect, without labor market reform, the future of youth employment looks murky," Park said during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
It was Park's first official act since she returned from a week-long vacation, Sunday.
"In order to address this urgent issue, we should definitely reform the labor market."
She added that unlike the rapid growth period of the past that could easily churn out jobs for the young, it is now difficult to hire many young people.
As part of its reform plan, the government is pushing a peak wage system that offers a job security guarantee, but gradually cuts the salary for older employees after a certain age.
"The peak wage system, expected to introduce a solid employment structure, is a win-win deal for the older generation and the younger one," Park said.
