Citizen-Centered 'Job Creation' ... Driving Pohang as an Economic City

Announcement of Detailed Plan for Regional Job Disclosure System, Targeting Creation of 32,500 Jobs

Creating High Value-Added Jobs Utilizing Excellent Infrastructure, Attracting and Settling Young Population

Pohang City announced the detailed plan for the local job disclosure system on the 30th through the regional employment network and the city’s website to promote job-centered administration.

The '2022 Pohang City Job Fair' held at Manindang in November last year.

Introduced in 2010, the local job target disclosure system is a policy where the head of a local government establishes job targets and job measures to be achieved during their term and publicly announces them to citizens. The central government supports the local government’s policies, monitors the progress, and provides incentives to outstanding local governments.

To respond to regional employment crises such as local extinction and industrial transformation, Pohang City has set the job policy vision for this year as “Creating 32,500 better jobs centered on citizens” and is accelerating efforts to build a sustainable Pohang.

Viewing the creation of high-quality jobs as the top priority for population inflow, Pohang has achieved remarkable results by attracting corporate investments and establishing optimal infrastructure in future new growth industries such as secondary batteries, gaining momentum not only in South Korea but also in attracting global new industry companies.

Since being designated on July 24, 2019, as the nation’s first regulatory free zone for next-generation battery recycling, Pohang has built a sustainable growth foundation for the secondary battery industry by establishing the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center, the Battery Resource Circulation Cluster, and attracting the Inline Automatic Evaluation Center.

Currently, building on these achievements, Pohang is preparing to attract global innovation special zones, national advanced strategic industry specialized complexes, and opportunity development special zones to make a great leap forward as a global battery hub city.

In response, job projects include ▲Secondary Battery Convergence Workforce Training and Employment Support Project ▲Regulatory Free Zone Innovation Project Development and Infrastructure Establishment Project ▲Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center R&D Promotion Support Project, aiming to create a cooperative ecosystem among the private sector, government, and academia and generate various high value-added jobs by utilizing excellent infrastructure.

Last year, Pohang formed a consortium with local universities that newly established and operate a new materials battery department and is participating in the Higher Vocational Education Hub District project competition to train field personnel tailored to the demand in the secondary battery industry.

Along with this, Pohang is building a youth independence ecosystem to attract and settle young people through various youth network constructions and employment and start-up incubating programs such as ▲Youth Center & Youth Start-up Platform Operation ▲Gyeongbuk Youth Prospective Entrepreneur Development Project ▲Creative Economy Innovation Center Operation ▲Start-up Incubation Center Support.

Additionally, Pohang is striving to resolve job mismatches through job seeker support and diverse information exchange by operating ▲Vocational Competency Development Training Projects ▲Job Comprehensive Center ▲Spare Time Trading Market ▲Employment Support Center, and plans to expand job opportunities through customized job support projects focused on vulnerable groups such as women, middle-aged workers, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang said, “Although recent employment indicators show a favorable trend, this year is expected to slow down compared to last year due to base effects, population decline, and economic uncertainties. Pohang City will do its best to turn this crisis into an opportunity and build a sustainable Pohang as an economic city that continuously grows with new industries and overflows with jobs and people.”