election Chung Pledges to Resolve Unemployment for 20s, 30s
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Presidential candidate Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) Thursday sought to win the hearts of those in their 20s and 30s by pledging to resolve unemployment and help ease the burden of expensive tuition at universities.
``While university tuition reaches 10 million won ($1,070) per year, the monthly income of temporary workers is just an average 880,000 won,'' Chung said during a brief tour in Shinchon, Seoul, which is always crowded with young people. ``I believe encouraging the young is a starting point to open the era of the happy family.''
If elected, he said he will give 300,000 young people an opportunity to study and work abroad over the next five years to resolve the serious unemployment problem here.
He also pledged to introduce a system to subsidize young job seekers.
The UNDP candidate suggested more programs are needed to help young businessmen start their own business and reduce temporary jobs for stable employment.
Pointing out that Korea's tuition is the third most expensive in the world following the United States and Australia, he promised to introduce the ''study first, pay later'' program.
Under the system, people can study at universities without paying tuition and then reimburse their schools when they get a job, he explained.
He has claimed that he will remove the four major insecurities here regarding employment, education, post-retirement and residences.
Picking the housing problem as a hurdle that causes a burden for young people, he vowed to build long-term rental houses and offer them to newly-weds at affordable prices.
Chung also stressed that the government should share responsibility for childrearing by providing free day-care centers.
He called for a revision to the current mandatory military service system, noting that only a few countries including Korea have such a system.
``An increasing number of countries have a voluntary service system. As peace is settling down on the Korean Peninsula, the nation needs to review its conscription system.''
He pledged to cut the current two-year service period to 18 months by 2014 and employ 50,000 voluntary soldiers in stages by 2012.