By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that the government will create a special fund with the purpose of creating jobs for young people as part of measures to reform the labor market.
“Park proposed the idea during a Cabinet meeting to help the government successfully complete labor market reform,” said Ahn Jong-beom, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, at a press briefing.
Park promised to donate part of her monthly paycheck to the fund, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
“She said she will be the first donor,” Ahn said. “We hope people from all walks of life, including prominent social leaders and businesspeople, will voluntarily donate money and join our efforts to provide jobs for young people.”
The presidential office fell short of elaborating on the amount of the fund and how the money will be used.
The proposal came two days after union, management and government representatives reached an agreement to revamp the labor market.
The Tripartite Commission officially passed the agreement, after the leaders of the Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU) voted for the deal that includes easing layoffs and changing employment rules, Monday.
Park said the agreement would not necessarily mean easier layoffs, calling on companies to make efforts to create jobs and revitalize the economy.
The Park administration has called for labor market reform to create more jobs for young people and revive the sluggish economy, stressing that sustainable growth depends on tackling youth unemployment.
The nation’s unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 29 was 8 percent in August, down from 9.4 percent from July.
During the meeting, Park also said that South and North Korea should seek a fundamental solution to the issue of family reunions this year marking the 70th anniversary of the division of the Korean Peninsula.
“It is not possible to heal the pain of separated family members, holding the reunions once or twice a year,” Park said.
“In this regard, both sides need to hold a Red Cross meeting as promised to address relevant issues, including holding the reunions on a regular basis and confirming their relatives on the other side of the border are still alive.”
Earlier this month, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to hold another round of family reunions between Oct. 20 and 26 at the Mt. Geumgang resort in the North.
They last staged reunions of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War in February 2014.
Park has called for the North to regularize the reunions, given the advancing age of the divided family members.
According to the unification ministry, nearly 130,000 people have been registered as separated family members since 1988, but only 66,000 remain alive. Half of these people are 80 and older.