Prime Minister Kim Minseok visited the dawn labor market in Guro-gu, Seoul, on October 10, immediately following the Chuseok holiday, to inspect the site.
Prime Minister Kim Minseok is visiting the volunteer center near Namguro Dawn Labor Market in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 10th to encourage volunteers. 2025.10.10 Photo by Yonhap News
This location, commonly referred to as the "Namguro Station Labor Market," is the largest labor market in the Seoul metropolitan area, where construction workers seeking jobs at sites across the city gather. Prime Minister Kim was accompanied by Assemblyman Yoon Konyoung of the Democratic Party of Korea (Seoul Guro-eul), Kim Hyungkwang, acting director of employment policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Jang Inhong, mayor of Guro-gu. Together, they visited the site to listen to the concerns of construction workers and volunteer center staff.
An official from the Construction Workers' Mutual Aid Association explained, "There are about 53 labor markets nationwide, but most have virtually disappeared. Since workers rarely show up, the Namguro Station labor market is currently the largest among those remaining." The association conducts consultations with workers to allocate manpower to sites and provides safety training before work begins. In addition, welfare programs such as educational support are also offered.
Mayor Jang stated, "Seoul City and Guro-gu jointly allocate a budget of about 150 million won for dawn job opportunities, but recently, the city notified us that the entire budget for next year will be cut. If the cut is finalized, we (the district office) will have to use our own budget to keep the program running," he appealed.
In response, Prime Minister Kim criticized, saying, "Why is the city being so foolish? These basic programs, which cost so little, must be maintained."
Prime Minister Kim then moved to the volunteer center for construction workers at the dawn market, where he met with volunteers to encourage them and listen to their concerns. Hong Byungsoon, head of the volunteer center, expressed gratitude, saying, "In the past, we had no shelter, so we had to carry supplies back and forth from the street or home. Seven construction companies sponsored 500 million won to expand the center’s facilities." He added, "Since the city subsidy will be discontinued from next year, we have been waiting for your visit to ask for your support."
Prime Minister Kim responded, "I will discuss this with the city council." He continued, "I deeply appreciate your dedication in volunteering for over a decade, taking on responsibilities that the government should fulfill. The government will also spare no effort in providing support."
In relation to this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government clarified through a statement that the budget for the dawn job shelter program is not being cut but is being restructured. The budget is applied not only in Guro-gu but also in four other districts, including Geumcheon. However, in three of these districts, excluding Guro and Geumcheon, the average daily number of shelter users is only 30 to 40, which is a stark contrast to Guro-gu, where daily users reach up to 1,000.
Accordingly, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated, "We are preparing to revise the program structure so that districts with outstanding performance will receive more benefits, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the dawn job program. We also plan to continue the dawn job shelter program in 2026."
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