The head of Lotte Group promised Thursday he will bolster efforts to expand hiring down the road, in a step with the new government's key policy initiative to create more jobs to tackle alarming youth unemployment.
"As there's a saying that 'employment is the best kind of welfare,' I will strive to expand recruitment," Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin said at the group's annual meeting with its labor union.

"The trust we have built, between the company and the union, has enabled us to come this far despite many difficulties over the

50 years of the group's history. We'll continue our efforts toward the employment that harmonizes both the younger and older generations."

His remark comes amid a strong drive being pushed by President Moon Jae-in who pledged to create more "quality jobs" that are stable and push forward measures that will help switch many temporary positions to full-time jobs.

South Korea's unemployment rate stood at 4.2 percent in April, with the jobless rate of people aged between 15 and 29 recording 11.2 percent, the second-highest level tallied so far.

Lotte said earlier that it plans to hire new 70,000 employees over the next five years. It also promised to gradually turn some 10,000 temporary workers to full-time positions over the next three years.

The fifth-largest conglomerate here has a workforce of some 36,000 in the local market as of 2016, with its global employees reaching 125,000, according to the regulatory data. (Yonhap)