Deputy Minister Kim Yong-beom of the Blue House policy office said the "Youth New Deal" policy, into which 1.9 trillion won will be injected through this supplementary budget, will give 110,000 young people struggling with job hunting a direct opportunity.
On the 31st, Kim wrote on Facebook, "We reflected about 900 billion won for startup support and about 1 trillion won for job training and work experience," adding, "Including both the process of preparing for employment and the path of creating opportunities on their own, about 110,000 young people will be able to gain direct opportunities."
He pointed to the substitution effect from advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology as a reason why the so-called "took a break" (gave up job seeking) youth are not decreasing. The analysis is that a mismatch in the labor market—where entry-level hiring shrinks due to AI so young people cannot build experience, while corporations prefer experienced talent—is to blame.
The Deputy Minister said, "We are seeing a repeated structure in which people prepare but do not get opportunities, and are asked for experience but are not given the chance to start," adding, "The longer young people's hardships persist, the more it extends beyond personal frustration to become a burden on society as a whole," explaining the policy design background.
He went on to explain, "This package is structured around three directions—experience, leap, and recovery," adding, "Rather than dividing young people by specific criteria, we focused on recognizing each person's situation and pace and offering choices that fit."
The Deputy Minister directly outlined policies such as redesigning job training and education programs, providing project-based work opportunities, and expanding the National Employment Support Program, adding, "On a broadened path that includes not only employment but also startups, we hope challenges themselves become experiences for young people and that the process serves as a springboard for a leap."