President Moon Jae-in explains about the bulletin board on job creation installed at the Yeomingwan, the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)

The Presidential committee for job creation announced a package of plans for job creation within President Moon Jae-in’s first 100 days in office, 

The newly inaugurated presidential committee for job creation plans to impose a surcharge on large-sized companies hiring too many non-regular employees. Companies with more than 300 employees will initially be subject to the penalty. Companies will be banned from hiring non-regular employees in such special areas related to life and safety. The measure is one of a package of plans for job creation within President Moon Jae-in’s first 100 days in office, announced by the presidential committee on June 1. The committee has decided to come up with a roadmap for job creation by Aug. 17 on President Moon’s 100th day in office to flesh out on President Moon’s public pledge for job creation during his presidential campaign. Moon vowed to boost jobs and create 810,000 more in the public sector during the campaign. 

President Moon himself takes the helm of the presidential committee for job creation. The vice chairman of the committee is Lee Yong-sup, a former lawmaker of the Minju Party of Korea (MPK), who served as home affairs minister and transportation and construction ministers for the former president Roh Moo-hyun government. 

In principle, the committee plans to require companies to have regular and continuous jobs as well ones related to life and safety filled with regular employees. The committee is considering imposing a financial penalties on large-sized companies hiring too many non-regular employees in jobs other than the banned categories.

Vice Chairman Lee said, “Conglomerates which have capacity enough to hire regular employees would be imposed with a surcharge in the case they hire non-regular employees.” But the private sector would not be forced to change non-regular employees into regular employees, and the issue would be addressed through parliamentary legislation or social consensus, Lee said. 

He said in an interview at the Seoul Government Complex Annex Building in Changseong-dong, Seoul, on May 29 that in principle, regular and continued jobs as well as the ones related to lives and safety will be required to have non-regular employees replaced with regular employees. The government will not force specific methods, but will suggest guidelines for the big picture, he said. Specifically, Lee said, it is up to public entity CEOs and unions to decide the issue of changing non-regular employees into regular ones by comprehensively considering such things as the work process efficiencies of the public entities and employees’ compensation.

Regarding to President Moon’s J-nomics,” named after the initial of President Moon’s given name Jae-in, Vice Chairman Lee said it starts with job creation, and it may finish up with job creation. J-nomics is designed to create a virtuous cycle of job creation in which creating good quality jobs will lead quality growth, contribute to the easing of the bipolarization and ensuring public integration, thus resulting in creating more many jobs again, he explained. Unlike previous governments, the current government inaugurated the presidential committee charged with job creation under the control of President Moon, establishing a strong administrative regime to push for job creation policies.

The committee set a timetable to raise the minimum wage per hour from the current 6,470 won to 10,000 won by 2020, as President Moon pledged during his campaign. It also decided to reduce the legal maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52 through parliamentary legislation or administrative interpretation. “All policies, including investment, employment, fiscal and tax system will be redesigned to focus on job creation within President Moon Jae-in's first 100 days in office,” Vice Chairman Lee said. 

When it comes to solving the issue of upgrading non-regular works to regular workers, the committee has come up with “stick and carrot” strategies. Companies who change non-regular workers to regular workers will be given extensions on financial support and tax credits.