Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong Holds Candid Talks with Young Social Workers: "We Will Be a Reliable Source of Support"

Field dialogue session with 12 young and prospective social workers
Ministry vows to incorporate their input into future policies to improve working conditions

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong met with young social workers who have recently entered the workforce, listening to their firsthand accounts of conditions in the field and pledging to make meaningful improvements to their working conditions.

Jung Eun-kyung, Minister of Health and Welfare, meets with 12 practicing and aspiring social workers on the 30th. Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on October 30 that it had held a dialogue session at Yeomni Community Welfare Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul, attended by a total of 12 people, including young social workers working in the field and university students majoring in social welfare. The event was organized to encourage early-career workers in their 20s and 30s who are dedicated to frontline welfare services for children, older adults and people with disabilities, as well as prospective social workers preparing to obtain their qualifications.

The session was held in a relaxed atmosphere, with participants sitting together and having candid conversations, moving away from the heavy and formal format of conventional meetings. The nine young social workers and three university students in attendance spoke openly about everything from their personal reasons for choosing a career in social welfare to the everyday challenges and practical concerns they face in the field. Minister Jeong offered her heartfelt support to the young people who had chosen the dedicated path of social work among many career options, and carefully listened to their questions and concerns about their work.

Minister Jeong emphasized communication and empathy rather than one-way instructions or the top-down delivery of policies. “This is not a place to explain policies. We are here to listen fully to how our young people truly feel about their work and what they need,” she said. She added, “Just as social workers’ warm support sustains our society, the government will be a reliable source of support for young social workers, meet them where they are and work through challenges together.”

The ministry plans to actively incorporate the young people’s pointed concerns and opinions raised at the session into future support for the welfare sector and policies to improve workers’ conditions.

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