Hongkeun Park's Genuine Commitment to Youth: This Time, Experts Gather to Discuss Employment and Housing Issues

Experts Gather for Structural Diagnosis by Sector

Minister Hongkeun Park Takes Proactive Steps in Youth Policy

The Ministry of Planning and Budget held a 'Forum for Youth Policy Experts' at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on July 10, presided over by Minister Hongkeun Park. The event was organized to structurally diagnose the instability factors faced by young people across five core areas throughout their life course: employment, entrepreneurship, asset building, housing, and marriage. It also aimed to discuss the role of fiscal policy and directions for investment.

Hongkeun Park (second from the left), Minister of Planning and Budget, is speaking at the Youth Policy Experts Forum. Ministry of Planning and Budget.

At the forum, experts in the field of employment argued that fiscal support, which has traditionally focused on employment incentives for companies, should be rapidly shifted to direct support for youth in order to promote early entry into the labor market. In the area of entrepreneurship, it was pointed out that to overcome low survival rates, the current grant-based support should be converted to performance-linked 'investment-type and conditional support' to strengthen accountability.

For asset building, housing, and marriage, proposals included strengthening the connectivity of existing products such as youth-type Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), advancing housing welfare platforms like 'My Home', and significantly expanding youth asset-building programs to childhood for direct support, in order to break down the barriers to marriage and childbirth that are influenced by economic conditions.

This forum is a continuation of Minister Park's proactive initiatives in youth policy since taking office. After his inauguration in March, Minister Park chose 'on-site visits for youth employment and entrepreneurship' as his first field activity. In May, he hosted the ministry's first-ever 'Youth Live Talk', both online and offline, to listen to voices on the ground. Last month, he announced the 'Marriage-Friendly Policy Improvement Plan' and, in collaboration with related ministries, the 'Fiscal Support Plan Linking Corporate Support and Employment'. Most recently, he visited the National Assembly to hold a 'Youth Policy Discussion' with young lawmakers, establishing an all-party cooperation system.

Meanwhile, the Ministry plans to actively incorporate the recommendations from the forum into the '2027 Budget Proposal' and the process of developing a mid- to long-term national development strategy. Minister Park stated, "Now is the golden time to make bold and comprehensive investments in the youth generation, who will become the leaders of Korea in 20 years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.