[Interview] Lee Seong, Guro-gu Mayor: "We Will Do Our Best to Solve Employment and Housing Issues So That Youth Can Pursue Their Dreams"

Operating 4th Industrial Revolution Job Training and AI·VR Interview Experience Programs at 'Cheongnyeon Irum' Established Last Year... Providing Jobs for Youth and Talented Workforce for Companies through Work Experience Support Projects... Actively Supporting Startup Activities... Offering Various Benefits to Youth Enterprises... Also Striving to Provide Youth Housing in Oryu-dong and Other Areas to Solve Housing Issues

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “With the rising barriers to employment and the burden of housing costs, young people are facing increasing difficulties. We are doing our best to create a city where the youth, who are the future of the region, can freely pursue their dreams.”

Lee Sung, the Mayor of Guro District, said this in an interview with our newspaper, emphasizing his efforts to ease the concerns of young people and provide practical support.

To support youth employment activities, Guro District opened the total job platform “Cheongnyeon Irum” on the basement first floor of Cheonwang Station in May last year. Cheongnyeon Irum spans a total area of 2,244㎡ and includes four lecture rooms, two study rooms, a youth employment vitality space, and a job caf?. It operates various employment programs, supporting everything from writing self-introduction letters and interviews to job preparation and skill development in professional fields. In preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, it offers “Series D” (basic course) and “GD Project” (advanced course), where participants learn job fields such as developers, data marketers, and designers. Graduates of the GD Project are also given opportunities for company interviews.

Recently, to enhance young people’s adaptability to the rapidly changing recruitment environment, an “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) Interview Experience Center” was opened within Cheongnyeon Irum. When users respond to questions from the AI interviewer, their gaze, response speed, voice tremors, and other factors are analyzed to evaluate job competencies. Mayor Lee said, “Many young people from other regions visit Cheongnyeon Irum to attend employment programs,” adding, “Through Cheongnyeon Irum, we also support exhibition activities by young artists as well as employment programs.”

Guro District is also implementing the “G-Valley Type Guro Youth Work Experience Support Project” to provide young people with practical work experience opportunities.

Youth complete courses such as IT job specialization training, portfolio creation, and company-specific field training, then work as interns for three months at G-Valley companies. Participating companies receive subsidies for three months of intern salaries and additional incentives along with three months of salary support when converting interns to full-time employees. Mayor Lee explained, “Most companies located in G-Valley, the core of the local economy, are small and medium-sized enterprises suffering from chronic labor shortages,” adding, “Through the work experience project, companies receive excellent personnel support, and young people can build practical work experience.”

To support youth entrepreneurship, the district is also running the “Campus Town Project” in cooperation with local universities. Startup spaces are created within universities and provided to local youth, along with entrepreneurship support programs. At Dongyang Mirae University, 20 teams with 64 members, and at Sungkonghoe University, 14 teams with 74 members are engaged in startup activities.

In March, the district introduced the “Youth Enterprise Certification System” to discover young entrepreneurs in the region and activate startup activities. Certified youth enterprises receive benefits such as low-interest loans, support for participation fees in the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s overseas branch project, and marketing consulting. Guro District plans to continuously communicate and actively support youth enterprises, which account for about 14% of all local companies, to ensure their sufficient growth.

Guro District is also making efforts to solve youth housing issues. In collaboration with SH Corporation, the district carried out the Oryu 1-dong Community Complex Project, constructing 180 rental housing units for youth, newlyweds, and the elderly by the end of last year. Additional youth housing will be developed in various locations such as Gaebong-dong (895 units) and Garibong-dong (246 units).

In Oryu 2-dong, the “Cheongchun Darakbang” providing residential and workspace for youth was completed in June and is currently preparing for tenant recruitment. The building has 149 units across two basement floors and seven above-ground floors; floors 1 to 5 are youth housing (106 units), and floors 6 and 7 are residential and office spaces (43 units) for one-person creative entrepreneurs.

Additionally, a total of 2,670 units of Happy Housing have been supplied to youth such as university students and newlyweds in Oryu-dong (890 units), Cheonwang 1 and 2 districts (909 units), and Hang-dong (871 units).

Moreover, Guro District provided employment incentives worth a total of 584 million KRW in local currency, 500,000 KRW per person, to 1,168 unemployed youth struggling due to COVID-19. Mayor Lee said, “It is the responsibility of the government and local authorities to actively support young people, who are the leaders of the future, to enter society,” and added, “We will do our best to make Guro District a reliable support for youth.”