Seodaemun-gu Joins Forces with Local Startups to Create Youth Employment Opportunities

Seodaemun-gu Holds '2022 Corporate Win-Win Internship Project Agreement Ceremony'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) announced that on the 26th, at Mujungryeokjidae (Hongje), a signing ceremony for the ‘Corporate Win-Win Internship Project’ was held to successfully promote the youth employment project, attended by Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, Seo Soon-tak, President of the University of Seoul, representatives of participating companies, and about 30 young people.

This project is a youth employment initiative selected through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘Region-led Youth Employment Project’ contest. The district selected 14 companies in February through recruitment targeting green, social, digital, and technology startup companies within the region.

Subsequently, a total of nine youth interns were selected and began working in April, performing tasks at each company.

Through the signing ceremony, the district office, the executing institution University of Seoul, and participating companies promised to faithfully fulfill their mutual obligations for the efficient operation of the youth employment project.

According to the agreement, ▲ the district office will oversee the overall operation of the project and support the budget including labor costs ▲ the University of Seoul will cooperate with the district office to operate the project and support youth education and networking ▲ companies will provide jobs to give youth opportunities to build job competencies and work experience and will strive to convert interns to full-time employees.

The ceremony proceeded in three parts: Part 1 signing the agreement, Part 2 introducing exemplary cases and participating companies, and Part 3 voluntary networking between companies and youth. The district has promoted the ‘Corporate Win-Win Internship Project’ from 2018 to 2020, during which youth hired were converted to full-time employees and continue to contribute to corporate growth.

Jung Hyun-jung, CEO of the startup company ‘Reedum,’ selected as an exemplary case, expressed gratitude, saying, “Many startups face manpower shortages, but the district’s youth employment project has been a great support enabling us to overcome this and grow.”

Seodaemun-gu Office plans to provide not only jobs to youth interns through this project but also various services such as capacity-building education, qualification acquisition support, and networking to foster solidarity.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, said, “I hope this project will enable startups to grow stably and nurture professionals through job experience so that companies and youth can coexist,” adding, “We will continue to strive to create and support quality youth jobs in cooperation with universities.”