Nation cannot solve jobless problem with donation drive
During the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Koreans' gold-collection drive caught global attention as an example of spontaneous public patriotism. That was then. The government cannot, and must not, expect people to come to its rescue whenever a difficult problem arises. Even the gold-giving campaign was more symbolic than substantive.
A week ago, President Park Geun-hye donated 20 million won ($16,800) to a fund she initiated to provide jobs for young unemployed adults, promising to also give 20 percent of her monthly salary toward that end. Following Park's lead were Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, other government and ruling party officials, heads of public corporations, chaebol chairmen and bank presidents, who competed to join the "Youth Hope Fund."
The President's intention was commendable but her methods were hardly so. Some bank executives who want to appear loyal to Cheong Wa Dae expanded the drive to their rank-and-file employees, including even part-time guards, causing complaints from unions about who should help whom.
Older Koreans must be having a sense of deja vu of the frequent fund-raising campaigns under military rulers from the 1960s to the 80s. More astonishing, even the prime minister or Cheong Wa Dae secretaries do not seem to have any operational plans for the fund, which reportedly started by the President's impromptu idea. Officials say they will soon come up with details, including the fund's total targeted amount and its specific use, adding one more case of putting the cart before the horse.
The government cannot solve a chronic, structural problem like youth unemployment with a transient campaign. When something that started as a voluntary drive becomes a semi-compulsory one, everyone loses.
This is a problem the Park administration should tackle with proper policies and a budget, rather than passing the buck to the people. The government ought to work out policies that can reignite growth, crack down on inefficient state companies and their employees and better link education to work. Instead of forcing people to pay quasi-taxes in the form of a donation to raise necessary financial resources, it should raise corporate tax rates and introduce a wealth tax.
The new coinage of "Hell Joseon" ― meaning hellish Korea like the medieval kingdom ― shows how today's youngsters view this society.
The youth unemployment rate has topped 11 percent by official statistics but the "skin-felt" jobless rate approaches 25 percent, meaning that one in every four young people is a NEET, not in employment, education or training. It is small surprise then that although this year's suicide rate hit a six-year low, the rate for people in their 20s and 30s edged up. If the young see only a very dark and dismal future before them, Korea has no future.
The only way to get out of this hell is for the establishment ― those at the top 20 percent of public and private sectors ― to get ready to abandon their iron bowls by volunteering to cut salaries and/or retire earlier in return for welfare packages to sustain their basic living.
Otherwise, the proposed fund should be renamed "Youth Torture Fund."
During the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, Koreans' gold-collection drive caught global attention as an example of spontaneous public patriotism. That was then. The government cannot, and must not, expect people to come to its rescue whenever a difficult problem arises. Even the gold-giving campaign was more symbolic than substantive.
A week ago, President Park Geun-hye donated 20 million won ($16,800) to a fund she initiated to provide jobs for young unemployed adults, promising to also give 20 percent of her monthly salary toward that end. Following Park's lead were Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, other government and ruling party officials, heads of public corporations, chaebol chairmen and bank presidents, who competed to join the "Youth Hope Fund."
The President's intention was commendable but her methods were hardly so. Some bank executives who want to appear loyal to Cheong Wa Dae expanded the drive to their rank-and-file employees, including even part-time guards, causing complaints from unions about who should help whom.
Older Koreans must be having a sense of deja vu of the frequent fund-raising campaigns under military rulers from the 1960s to the 80s. More astonishing, even the prime minister or Cheong Wa Dae secretaries do not seem to have any operational plans for the fund, which reportedly started by the President's impromptu idea. Officials say they will soon come up with details, including the fund's total targeted amount and its specific use, adding one more case of putting the cart before the horse.
The government cannot solve a chronic, structural problem like youth unemployment with a transient campaign. When something that started as a voluntary drive becomes a semi-compulsory one, everyone loses.
This is a problem the Park administration should tackle with proper policies and a budget, rather than passing the buck to the people. The government ought to work out policies that can reignite growth, crack down on inefficient state companies and their employees and better link education to work. Instead of forcing people to pay quasi-taxes in the form of a donation to raise necessary financial resources, it should raise corporate tax rates and introduce a wealth tax.
The new coinage of "Hell Joseon" ― meaning hellish Korea like the medieval kingdom ― shows how today's youngsters view this society.
The youth unemployment rate has topped 11 percent by official statistics but the "skin-felt" jobless rate approaches 25 percent, meaning that one in every four young people is a NEET, not in employment, education or training. It is small surprise then that although this year's suicide rate hit a six-year low, the rate for people in their 20s and 30s edged up. If the young see only a very dark and dismal future before them, Korea has no future.
The only way to get out of this hell is for the establishment ― those at the top 20 percent of public and private sectors ― to get ready to abandon their iron bowls by volunteering to cut salaries and/or retire earlier in return for welfare packages to sustain their basic living.
Otherwise, the proposed fund should be renamed "Youth Torture Fund."
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