Gwangju City-Economic Organizations Sign Job Creation MOU to Overcome COVID-19 Crisis

Mayor Lee Yong-seop "Expecting an Opportunity to Create New Job Growth Engines"

On the afternoon of the 19th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the 'Job Creation Agreement to Overcome the COVID-19 Crisis' ceremony in the business room on the 3rd floor of the city hall. After signing the agreement, a commemorative photo was taken. From the left in the photo are Na Seong-hwa, Director of Gwangju Economic Employment Promotion Agency; Lee Kyung-chae, President of Gwangju Small Business Association; Kim Sang-jae, President of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association Gwangju Branch; Yeom Hong-seop, Chairman of Hanam Industrial Complex Management Corporation; Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City; Kim Bo-gon, Chairman of Pyeongdong Regional Business Operation Council; Lee Yong-beom, Chairman of Gwangju High-tech National Industrial Complex Managers Association; and Son Jung-ho, President of Gwangju Metropolitan City Merchants Association. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City and local economic organizations are joining forces to create private sector jobs.

On the 19th, Gwangju City announced that it signed a business agreement for 'Job Creation Cooperation to Overcome the COVID-19 Crisis' with seven job creation-related organizations, including Hanam Industrial Complex Management Corporation, Pyeongdong Regional Enterprise Management Council, High-tech Industrial Complex Managers Association, Gwangju Small Business Association, Korea Foodservice Industry Association Gwangju Branch, Gwangju Metropolitan City Merchants Association, and Gwangju Economic Employment Promotion Agency at the City Hall Business Room.

Through this business agreement, Gwangju City and the partner organizations will mutually cooperate to ensure the smooth implementation of the 6th Livelihood Stabilization Measures, the 'Support Project for New Employment in Small Businesses and Small-Scale Manufacturing,' to stabilize citizens' lives and revitalize the local economy.

The main agreement points include ▲joint efforts to create quality new jobs and active participation in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and recovering the local economy ▲active cooperation to establish a virtuous economic ecosystem of 'consumption-sales-production' by linking wage income from jobs to active consumption activities, and to develop this into sustainable and stable jobs in the future ▲realizing the proposition that 'jobs are the best welfare and the starting point of a happy life' together, contributing to building a just and prosperous Gwangju.

In this regard, as part of the 'Support Project for New Employment in Small Businesses and Small-Scale Manufacturing,' Gwangju City decided to support labor costs equivalent to 50% of the minimum wage for companies with fewer than 30 manufacturing employees and fewer than 5 small business employees that newly hire personnel and enroll them in the four major social insurances.

The support scale is 3,000 people, divided into 2,000 people in the first phase and 1,000 people in the second phase, with support provided for up to 6 months within a monthly limit of 898,000 KRW per person.

However, to benefit many companies, the plan is to support up to 3 people per manufacturing company and 1 person per small business.

Gwangju City plans to announce the details of the 'Support Project for New Employment in Small Businesses and Small-Scale Manufacturing' on the Gwangju City website on the 20th.

Yeom Hong-seop, Director of Hanam Industrial Complex Management Corporation, said, "We will actively cooperate so that many member companies can participate in this 50% labor cost support project for small businesses and manufacturing sectors," and added, "Since it is a difficult time due to COVID-19, we hope Gwangju City will continue to pay attention to job support projects."

Mayor Lee Yong-seop stated, "Through this business agreement, we aim to protect existing jobs and create momentum for new job creation," and added, "In these difficult times, I hope we can gather strength and wisdom to create stable jobs and build a virtuous economic ecosystem where wage income leads to consumption, sales, and reproduction."