Cheong Wa Dae, the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have set about preparing policies to deal with problems ailing the nation's younger generation. The three pillars of the governing camp recently discussed a road map for mid- to long-term youth policies, and released several priorities and action plans.
Their plans call for, among others, making the Office of the Prime Minister the control tower for youth unemployment policy, and creating a coordination committee under it. This committee will oversee youth policies produced by various ministries and set up a promotion bureau.
It is good to hear that the Moon Jae-in administration is showing a clear intention to resolve this problem. Given that many previous committees and other bodies ― hastily put together whenever a new government took office or serious problems arose ― turned themselves into nominal institutions, however, we can hardly hide our concern about the ongoing hubbub also ending up as much ado about nothing. If the move is a strategy targeting the general election next year without any serious thought about youth problems, the government would be better off not doing anything at all.
When Korea enjoyed robust economic growth in the past, youth unemployment was someone else's problem. As low growth has become a new reality, and the youth unemployment rate hovers above 10 percent, this has become a critical social issue. As the nation joins the rank of advanced countries and global industrial structures shift from manufacturing to services, the dearth of decent jobs has become somewhat inevitable. Forcing young people to shoulder the burden of this rapidly aggravating reality is neither fair nor right, however. The establishment needs to look back on whether it has kicked the ladder out from under young people to protect its vested rights.
There are many reasons young Koreans feel unhappy. From early childhood, they have had been force3d to study to enter good universities; but even after graduation, a tight job market awaits them. The ruling elite ought to approach its youth unemployment with the determination to solve these fundamental problems. The establishment should keep in mind that Korea has no future if it fails in doing this.