K-New Deal Academy Falls Short of Half Its Trainee Target... Effectiveness Under Scrutiny Ahead of Fivefold Budget Increase

The number of people actually receiving vocational training through the K-New Deal Academy, a government program that works with large companies to provide training opportunities for young people, has fallen short of half of this year's target of 10,000. Many participating companies have failed to recruit the number of trainees they initially planned for, and some have yet to finalize even the launch of their training courses.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Park Soo-min, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, 4,249 people were receiving training through the K-New Deal Academy as of September 15. That is just 42.5% of the government's target of 10,000 trainees for this year. The K-New Deal Academy is a program in which large companies and other employers favored by young people design and run vocational training programs in fields specific to their businesses. The government provides participating companies and trainees with support for training costs and training allowances.

Job seekers who attended the 2026 Public Institution Recruitment Information Fair at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 27 are visiting the National Health Insurance Service to learn about job opportunities. Jan. 27, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyeong.

Samsung Group recruited 665 of its planned 1,000 trainees, with 428 currently in training, while LG Electronics recruited only 230 of its planned 420. Adobe Systems Korea and Microsoft Korea recruited just 30% and 20% of their respective targets. Of the 50 participating companies, only 27 met their recruitment targets.

The program has fallen short of half its target in its first year, prompting calls to examine whether next year's budget adequately reflects the program's results and demand. After allocating 98.8 billion won in a supplementary budget this year to train 10,000 people, the government plans to expand participation to 50,000 next year and increase the relevant budget to 489.5 billion won. That is about five times this year's budget.

It is also unclear whether the program is fulfilling its stated aim of prioritizing young people who face barriers to employment. The government says it intends to provide job training at large companies to young people struggling to find work, including those described as “young people taking a break.” However, there are no data showing whether these young people are actually being given priority in selection.

“What young people need is not a showy increase in the budget but real employment opportunities,” Park said. “Before expanding the program, the government must first establish a system to verify that opportunities are reaching young people who need support and leading to actual employment.”

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