Ministry of Employment and Labor meets mid-sized firms on policy

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Friday it met leaders of South Korea's mid-sized businesses to seek policy input on hiring and workplace issues, while urging the sector to act as a government policy partner.

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon held the policy roundtable at the Korea Federation of Middle Market Enterprises in Mapo-gu, Seoul, with company representatives.

The ministry said the meeting was arranged to share its priority policy directions and hear directly from an industry it described as central to job creation, production and exports. It was the second consecutive annual visit by a labor minister to the federation, following the first such visit last September.

Kim presented a second-half "real growth with labor" strategy focused on safer workplaces with fair compensation, more jobs connecting younger and middle-aged workers, and narrowing gaps as industries undergo transformation. He described mid-sized businesses as a backbone of the economy and a core pillar of growth supporting regional economies and quality jobs.

Seven executives in automotive parts, information and communications, machinery and equipment, and metal processing raised concerns and requests on labor shortages, workplace safety, flexible working hours and retirement-age extensions.

Kim noted that mid-sized businesses employ a high share of young people and are preferred workplaces for young job seekers. "Please actively participate in government support programs and expand hiring so that youth employment policies can be felt on the ground," he said. Kim said policy answers "are always found in the field." "The government will spare no policy-support effort to create conditions in which companies can invest in people," he said.

Choi said mid-sized businesses would convey views from the field and communicate closely with the government as a core partner in employment and labor policy. He called for an employment and labor policy framework that changes with the industrial environment. "We must build a sustainable growth base where business development and fulfillment at work form a virtuous cycle, embracing today's young people and future generations," he said.