Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 11th, regarding statistics that "the number of employed people decreased for the first time in 17 months," said, "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility and will respond proactively."
The Minister said on Facebook that day, "As the Minister of the lead agency for jobs, I recognize the current employment situation as grave," and stated accordingly.
According to the May employment trends released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS), the number of employed people aged 15 or older last month (29.12 million) fell by 40,000 from May last year. The number of employed people declined for the first time in 17 months since December 2024 (-52,000).
The Minister said, "As the Middle East war continues, rising oil prices and difficulties at employment sites, including the manufacturing institutional sector, appear to be pronounced," adding, "I urgently ordered close inspections of employment conditions by region."
He continued, "From shortly after the Middle East war broke out, the government has held a weekly emergency employment and labor situation review meeting," and added, "In addition to easing the eligibility requirements for employment retention subsidies after listening to voices from vulnerable industries such as aviation, plastics, and textiles, we are supporting regional employment stability through the Buttimi-eum budget."
He added, "Going forward, we will closely monitor employment conditions by industry and region and actively consider measures such as designating regions for preemptive response to employment crises and special employment support industries."