Deputy PM Koo pledges 200,000 youth jobs by 2030, priority public housing access

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol unveiled a youth support blueprint Monday, pledging to create 200,000 jobs for young people and cultivate more than 100,000 young entrepreneurs by 2030.

Koo announced the plan at the National Fiscal Strategy Conference held at Cheong Wa Dae, saying the government had developed "tailored measures covering the entire life cycle of young people."

The government plans to train 200,000 specialists in AI, semiconductors and green transition through three "mega-projects" linking private companies, universities and public training programs.

"For capable young people, we will create a total of 200,000 jobs — 100,000 in the private sector, spanning new industries, science and technology, culture and finance, and another 100,000 in the public sector," Koo said. He added that the government would also cultivate more than 100,000 young entrepreneurs through initiatives including a new "Everyone's Startup" program and a dedicated youth startup league.

Housing support will also be strengthened. The government plans to supply a new category of public rental housing — built to private-market quality standards — in well-located areas such as transit-oriented districts, and to give young people priority access to those units. It also intends to expand jeonse rental housing for youth through urban purchase-rental programs and to introduce a jeonse and monthly rent stabilization body to reduce housing costs.

In addition, the government plans to introduce a new youth-oriented ISA and expand support for young workers at small and medium-sized enterprises to help them build assets. It will also promote early adoption of retirement pensions and review lowering the lending rate on Haetsal-lon Youth loans for high school graduates preparing to enter the workforce.

Koo also said the government would ease what he called the "marriage and childbirth penalty" by improving income eligibility requirements for newlywed housing loans and expanding free childcare and education for infants and toddlers.