'Naeil-ium Project' kicks off Thursday with Daejeon, Sejong, North Chungcheong Province and Ministry of Employment and Labor, linking job policy across administrative boundaries
A mega project to connect job policies across administrative boundaries and unite the Chungcheong region into a single employment and lifestyle zone has been formally launched.
South Chungcheong Province held the launch ceremony for the "Chungcheong Region Growth Industry Naeil-ium Project" at the North Chungcheong Provincial Office on Thursday, alongside the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the cities of Daejeon and Sejong and North Chungcheong Province.
About 100 people attended, including South Chungcheong Governor Park Soo-hyun, Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon, governors and deputy heads of the Chungcheong local governments, and experts and officials from the jobs and industry sectors. The ceremony featured an introduction to the project followed by a launch ceremony.
The project aims to pool the resources and capabilities of the four Chungcheong local governments to connect companies and talent in the advanced biohealth and future mobility sectors, building a wide-area jobs ecosystem across the region.
With a total budget of 4 billion won ($2.94 million) this year, the project will pursue five initiatives: support for the co-growth of companies and talent; joint employment support and labor services across the Chungcheong region; project-based internships and job placement; settlement support for job changers and relocated workers; and the establishment of a wide-area jobs governance framework.
The province expects the initiative to strengthen the Chungcheong region's industrial competitiveness and job-creation capacity by linking South Chungcheong's mobility manufacturing base, Daejeon's research and development capabilities, Sejong's residential conditions, and North Chungcheong's biotech clinical and production strengths.
Young people will also be able to turn hands-on experience gained at companies into employment and career advancement, while businesses will be able to recruit the talent they need to lay the groundwork for a new leap forward, the province said.
Officials believe the combined support of the four Chungcheong local governments and the central government will help companies grow, generate better jobs, and create a virtuous cycle in which quality employment attracts more talent to the region.
"The Chungcheong Region Growth Industry Naeil-ium Project will be an opportunity to bind Chungcheong together as a single economic and employment zone, significantly raising the region's competitiveness," Governor Park said.
He added that actively connecting the region's companies, talent and resources was essential to rebalancing a South Korea that had tilted too far toward Greater Seoul. "We will build a South Chungcheong Province where young people no longer have to leave in search of jobs but can settle and put down roots," he said.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
