S. Korea's policy blueprint for youth focuses on helping them find their feet

President Lee Jae Myung ,second from left, talks with a participant at an event held to communicate with people in their 20s and 30s held at a theater in Seoul on Sept. 19. (Yonhap)

South Korea on Monday announced a new policy direction to support people in their 20s and 30s. Priorities included expanding job and asset-building opportunities and broadening youth participation in policymaking.

Under the blueprint, jointly unveiled by the Office for Government Policy Coordination and other related ministries, the government will shift from targeted support for low-income and vulnerable groups to more universal measures.

Initiatives include creating a nationwide system to identify and support long-term unemployed youth, and establishing new pathways for reentry into the workforce after career breaks. The policy also calls for improving startup ecosystems, with a focus on AI and deep-tech ventures, and introducing new grants for young artists and programs to support young farmers and fishers.

A government grant program will provide 3,000 emerging artists with annual grants of 9 million won ($6,500) to support creative work. Additional measures include expanding farmland supply and rural housing schemes for young farmers, as well as enlarging the “Youth Sea Village” program to provide housing, jobs and community participation opportunities for young people in the fishing industry.

The blueprint seeks to address the exodus of young people from rural areas. To encourage them to settle outside the capital, the government will provide up to 7.2 million won in incentives over two years to 50,000 young people who find jobs in small and medium-sized companies outside the Seoul metropolitan area.

Plans to help with living costs include a nationwide public transport pass for young commuters, expanded scholarship programs, and the expansion of income-contingent student loans to all income brackets to ease debt burdens. The 150,000 won Arts Pass 19-year-olds get for cultural activities will be given to 20-year-olds too, and the value expanded to 200,000 won.

Special provisions are planned for at-risk groups, such as isolated youth, care-leavers and those vulnerable to housing fraud.

The government seeks to launch a new installment savings account in June to help young people build up their assets. It will shorten the deposit period of the existing "youth leap account" from five years to three years, and double the government’s contributions from the current 3-6 percent to 6-12 percent.

For those in their 20s and 30s who subscribe to the National Pension Fund for the first time, the government will cover the first month’s contribution.

Housing support will expand as well. The monthly rent subsidy of up to 200,000 won for low-income and housing-insecure youth will become a permanent program, and the government will build new public housing combining rental homes with shared facilities such as co-working spaces and gyms.

The government will also run programs to identify isolated and at-risk youth, provide tailored counseling and job support, and pilot separate welfare payments for young people living independently from their low-income parents.

New programs will also target young people with borderline intellectual disabilities, offering training and social integration opportunities.

The policy direction further emphasizes youth participation in governance. A national youth policy committee will be expanded with new expert subcommittees, while more young representatives will be appointed to government councils.

Officials said the measures would feed into the second five-year master plan for youth policy (2026-2030), to be finalized by the end of next year, with continued consultation to ensure young people’s voices are directly reflected.

Yoon Chang-ryeol, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said “Going forward, the government will continue engaging with young people through all ministries and reflect their views in drawing up the five-year master plan for youth policy by the end of this year. We will stand by young people so they can take their first steps with stability, achieve self-reliance, and grow with confidence as key players in policymaking.”