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

‘Cheongnyeon Irum’ 4th Industrial Revolution Job Training, AI·VR Interview Experience Program Operation Job Experience Support Project Provides Jobs for Youth and Talented Workforce for Companies · Actively Supports Startup Activities · Offers Various Benefits to Youth Companies… Youth Housing Prepared in Oryu-dong, etc. to Solve Housing Issues

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “With the increasing hurdles to employment and the burden of housing costs, young people are facing growing 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 publication, emphasizing his efforts to alleviate young people's concerns about employment and housing 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 preparing resumes and interviews to mastering job-specific skills. In preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, it offers ‘Series D’ (basic level) and ‘GD Project’ (advanced level) programs 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 answer questions from the AI interviewer, it analyzes eye movement, response speed, voice tremors, and other factors 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 for young artists, not just 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. After completing IT job-specific training, portfolio creation, and company-specific field training, youth interns work for three months at G-Valley companies. Participating companies receive subsidies covering three months of intern salaries and additional incentives and three months of salary support upon converting interns to full-time employees. Mayor Lee explained, “Most companies in G-Valley, the core of the local economy, are small and medium-sized enterprises facing 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 collaborating with local universities on the ‘Campus Town Project.’ Startup spaces are created within universities and provided to local youth, along with entrepreneurship support programs. At Dongyang Mirae University, 64 people across 20 teams, and at Sungkonghoe University, 74 people across 14 teams, 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.

Additionally, Guro District is making efforts to solve youth housing issues. In collaboration with SH Corporation, the district carried out a complex project at Oryu 1-dong Community Center, constructing 180 rental housing units for youth, newlyweds, and the elderly by the end of last year. Plans are underway to add more youth housing in areas such as Gaebong-dong (895 units) and Garibong-dong (246 units). In Oryu 2-dong, ‘Cheongchun Darakbang,’ providing residential and workspaces for youth, was completed in June and is currently preparing for tenant recruitment. This building has 149 units over 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. Furthermore, a total of 2,670 units of Happy Housing have been supplied to university students, newlyweds, and youth 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 stated, “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.”