홍남기 "민간, 서비스업, 취약계층 일자리 늘리기에 집중"
In response to the dismal employment figures... the nation's finance chief announced government's plans to turn things around.
The goal is to focus on creating more jobs this year, by revitalizing private investment and the service sector.
Kim Ji-yeon shares with us his remarks.
At a meeting of economy-related ministers on Wednesday, the Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki said the government aims to create one-hundred-50-thousand new jobs this year... by supporting the private sector to boost investment.
He stressed that the private sector should be the driving force behind job creation.
Hong says he expects the construction of Hyundai Motor Company's new Global Business Center, the new headquarters in Samseong-dong in southern Seoul... to begin during the first half of this year.
The 105-story Center, in which the Korean automaker has invested nearly 3-point-3-billion U.S. dollars... passed a governmental review earlier this week,... some four years after the company first announced the investment plan.
Also the minister unveiled plans to revitalize the sharing economy... including the installation of Internet-of-Things sensors in parking spaces by 2022 so that residents can share parking spaces through smartphone applications.
The government will also create overseas sharing offices for small and medium sized Korean companies.
Hong said the government will push to improve employment conditions especially for young people, women and the elderly.
The Ministry of Justice will come up with guidelines by June for the creation of employment contracts.
They're mostly aimed at helping freelancers engaged in the IT sector as well as those engaged in the sharing economy... be eligible for occupational health and safety insurance coverage... which is one of Korea's four basic insurances provided to employees.
While visiting a job fair in Seoul... Hong said that although the public sector can't boost job creation like the private sector... the government does have plans to recruit 23-thousand public sector jobs this year... some 4-hundred more than last year.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.