PPP's Jang calls on president to cut ties with KCTU, prioritize youth jobs

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on Monday pressed the government to sever ties with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and make youth job creation the top national priority.

In a Facebook post, Jang said the trade and industry minister had argued for exempting the semiconductor industry from the 52-hour workweek cap, only to be opposed by the labor minister — a former KCTU figure. "They seem to believe the semiconductor sector will keep doing well," he said.

Jang also drew Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae into his criticism, saying she had been "demanding more tax money day after day, complaining that Gyeonggi Province gets nothing out of the semiconductor boom," and showed no sign of reining in what he called wasteful fiscal management.

He reserved his sharpest words for President Lee Jae Myung. "As always, President Lee keeps his mouth shut on inconvenient issues," Jang said, accusing the president of banking on the semiconductor industry to fund a string of cash-transfer programs — a basic income for rural residents, additional child allowances, a youth participation income and a basic income for artists. "He sees the reality of Gyeonggi Province that he himself created, yet has no intention of fixing it," Jang added.

Jang said young people were bearing the brunt of the government's failures. "Young people — our future — are going through years of hardship. Some 48.6 percent of university graduates remain unemployed for more than a year after graduation. That is the worst figure since the global financial crisis of 2009," he said. "What future does a country have if its young people cannot find work?"

"This is not the time to scatter cash handouts or chase profit-sharing schemes," he said. "Youth job creation must be placed at the very top of the national agenda."

Jang called for labor market reform suited to the AI era and urged the government to focus on strengthening the economy's fundamentals. "Cut ties with the KCTU and start by scrapping the yellow-envelope law," he added. "If we miss this Monday's opportunity for labor reform, there will be no tomorrow for South Korea."