President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday instructed the government to quickly implement its extra budget to create more jobs and called for efforts to smoothly implement the cut in working hours.
"The working hour reduction that goes into effect as of July 1 will bring significant changes to our society. It will be a chance for our workers, who have been working over 300 hours more than the average working hours of OECD countries, to escape from overwork and start enjoying a full life by spending more time with their families," the president said in a cabinet meeting held at his office Cheong Wa Dae.
(Yonhap)
The president insisted the new 52-hour-per-week limit on working hours will also create new opportunities for employers.
"To businesses, it will be a new turning point to improve their productivity through creativity and innovation," he told the meeting.
Moon also stressed the need to quickly execute the 3.9 trillion won ($3.6 billion) extra budget to create more jobs, especially for the young.
"Because it has already been somewhat delayed, it will be more important than others to launch extra budget-funded projects with speed so the young people and those in areas facing an employment crisis may actually feel a change," he said.
He also called for stepped up efforts to inform the people of new job projects.
"I ask for your special efforts to inform the people of the extra budget projects so those who are eligible for benefits will not be left out simply because they did not know," the president said.
In a later meeting with economy-related ministers, including Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, the president called for additional efforts to help boost the earnings of low-income households.
The special meeting came one day after the president noted the average income of households in the lower 20 percent bracket dwindled while the overall economy expanded 3.7 percent on-year in the first three months of the year.
"Macroeconomic conditions are improving with the growth rate and household income in the first quarter growing from the previous quarter. However, the worsening distribution, as seen in the drop in the household income of those in the lower 20 percent bracket, is very painful," the president told the meeting, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.
"I wish to frankly discuss if our economic policy is moving in the right direction," Moon was quoted as saying.
Other participants in the meeting attributed the drop in the average income of low-income households to the fast aging of the population and a downturn in conditions for small businesses, the spokesman said in a press release.
"In addition, the participants agreed to maintain the three major economic policies of the Moon Jae-in administration that are income-led growth, innovation-led growth and fair competition, and discussed possible complementary measures," he said.
(Yonhap)
