Minister of Employment Urges Junggi Central Association and Korea Employers Federation to Promote Telecommuting Sales

Request for Cooperation in Creating Youth Jobs and Expanding Remote Work

Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk (right) and Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of the Korea Employers Federation (left) having a conversation about the expansion of remote work on the 29th. (Photo by Ministry of Employment and Labor)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] On the 29th, An Kyung-duk, Minister of Employment and Labor, visited the Korea Federation of SMEs and the Korea Employers Federation, urging them to "help expand telecommuting through their member companies." After receiving responses from companies operating telecommuting systems through this year's employment impact assessment announcement, stating that "since productivity has not decreased, they will maintain the current level of telecommuting even after the end of COVID-19," Minister An personally launched a 'policy sales' campaign targeting economic organizations.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Minister An visited the Korea Federation of SMEs and the Korea Employers Federation consecutively in the morning, conducting 'telecommuting policy sales' with key executives such as Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Son Kyung-sik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation. Minister An said, "At a time when social distancing through telecommuting is more necessary than ever to overcome the worsening COVID-19 situation," and urged, "I hope economic organizations will work hard to expand telecommuting through their member companies."

Earlier, on the 16th, the Korea Labor Institute reported that among 620 businesses implementing telecommuting in this year's employment impact assessment, 75.2% responded that they would maintain telecommuting at the current level even after the end of COVID-19. Among these companies, 53.6% said there was no difference in productivity while implementing telecommuting, and 18.7% said productivity actually increased. Regarding this, the Ministry of Employment and Labor assessed, "It was found that telecommuting has a positive effect on productivity and also contributes to workers' job satisfaction." According to Statistics Korea, the number of telecommuting workers increased twelvefold from 95,000 in 2019 to 1.14 million this year. The number of workers wishing to telecommute also more than doubled from 551,000 to 1.188 million during the same period. Minister An emphasized, "We will actively support efforts to introduce telecommuting through various supports such as consulting and spreading best practices," and requested, "Economic organizations and their member companies should also actively cooperate."

Meanwhile, Minister An praised economic organizations and their member companies for significantly contributing to youth job creation. He said, "Despite the COVID-19 crisis, thanks to the efforts of economic organizations and their member companies to maintain employment and the government's employment stability measures, we were able to prevent mass unemployment and achieve favorable employment outcomes compared to major OECD countries." He added, "I am grateful that economic organizations and their member companies actively participated in nurturing young talent in new industries and expanding youth jobs, and the government will thoroughly support corporate efforts." He continued, "As uncertainties related to COVID-19 remain and the digital and low-carbon transformation of our economy is rapidly progressing, the government will invest 31.1 trillion won in next year's job budget to actively support companies in maintaining employment and creating jobs."

The youth employment support project led by the Ministry of Employment and Labor includes participation from 11 companies and organizations such as Samsung Electronics, POSCO, SK Hynix, Lotte Holdings, KT, SK Supex Council, Starbucks, KT&G, and Hyundai Motor Company. The K-Digital Training, an IT job training program mainly operated by companies, involves NAVER, Socar (demand companies), Woowa Tech Course, and ELICE (training institutions). Next year, a 'Youth-Friendly Corporate ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) Support Project' will be newly established to select and support operating expenses for youth employment support programs run by companies as part of ESG management.

Chairmen Kim Ki-moon and Son Kyung-sik responded, "We agree that management and the government must work together to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and create jobs," and said, "We will strive through our member companies to realize the government's requests, so we ask the government to actively support us."