Vice Minister Ki Jae: "Green Remodeling for 83,000 Rental Houses... Online Model House to be Established in August"

June Employment Also Improved in Content... "Full Effort to Improve Quantity and Quality of Youth Jobs"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Lee Eokwon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated, "It is expected that the support for the green remodeling project of a total of 83,000 public rental housing units will reduce approximately 58,000 tons of greenhouse gases."

At the Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office on the 16th, Vice Minister Lee said, "We will continuously collect public opinions, such as by preparing an online model house for green remodeling in August." The government is actively promoting the green remodeling project as one of the 10 representative tasks of the Korean New Deal to transition the building sector, which accounts for about one-quarter of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, to low-carbon and eco-friendly.

Vice Minister Lee stated, "For aging public rental housing over 15 years old where vulnerable groups reside, we are enhancing energy performance with solar power facilities and high-efficiency LEDs," adding, "We are replacing and constructing with eco-friendly materials and high-performance insulation." The government completed a pilot project last year on a total of 10,300 public rental housing units, confirming about 30-40% energy savings and a reduction of 10,000 tons of greenhouse gases.

Regarding the recent employment market, the government evaluated, "In June, the steady increase in employment since February continued, and improvements were also made in the quality aspect of employment."

Vice Minister Lee also pledged to focus on improving youth-related employment indicators. He said, "The employment situation felt by young people on the ground is still difficult," and added, "We will continuously improve both the quantity and quality of jobs for the youth to narrow the gap between youth employment indicators and the perceived employment situation."

Meanwhile, the government decided to strengthen support efforts through the Small Business Hope Recovery Fund, institutionalization of loss compensation, and low-interest financial loans.