Yoon urges local gov'ts to help international students, workers find work in Korea amid labor shortages

President Yoon Suk Yeol said regional authorities should help international students and workers find employment in Korea to mitigate local labor shortages at a meeting of local government officials in South Chungcheong on Thursday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol salutes the flag during the opening of the 7th Central-Regional Government Meeting at the South Chungcheong provincial government headquarters in Hongseong County, South Chungcheong, on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol said regional authorities should help international students and workers find employment in Korea to mitigate local labor shortages at a meeting of local government officials in South Chungcheong on Thursday.

Speaking at the provincial government headquarters in Hongseong County, Yoon warned that Korea’s shrinking population poses the “greatest challenge” to its economy, security and society and a “grave threat” to the country’s future, according to the presidential office.

His comments at Thursday’s meeting echoed his remarks last month, when he said the country faces a “demographic emergency” and announced several measures, including establishing a population ministry, to craft policies designed to raise the country’s rock-bottom birthrate.

Yoon also said at the meeting that regional governments need more authority and financial resources to respond to the low birthrate problem according to local circumstances.

The president highlighted programs run by Busan as well as Gangwon and North Chungcheong provinces to attract foreign workers that could alleviate labor shortages in child care, housekeeping and nursing.

The president added that regional governments should “preemptively respond” to labor shortages in local industries, agriculture and fisheries by opening employment to foreigners and international students, while also noting that local authorities should have more of a say in the deliberations over visa and work permit policies.

According to Yoon, such individuals can “achieve their Korean dream by positioning themselves as community members engaged in healthy economic activities.”

The presidential office said that Yoon urged provincial governors and Cabinet members to maintain active cooperation and communication to devise effective measures to tackle the country’s demographic challenges.

The presidential office on Thursday also announced the appointment of You Hye-mi, a professor at Hanyang University’s College of Economics and Finance, as the first-ever senior presidential secretary for low birthrate issues.

Speaking at a press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Thursday afternoon, Yoon’s chief of staff Chung Jin-suk described You as “a mother of twin children who understands the reality of working moms” and expressed confidence that she “possesses the professionalism and experience to prepare comprehensive proposals to overcome the problem of the country’s low birthrate.”

Chung noted that You had spent much of her academic career researching the labor market, including the effect that changes in the labor pool have on economic development.

According to her resume on Hanyang University’s website, You has also published academic papers on dual-earner couples’ time choices in Korea, the division of child care duties among couples, and the relationship between marriage and income.

A graduate of Seoul National University, You obtained a doctorate in economics from the University of Rochester and worked as an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo before taking up her current post at Hanyang University.

In her first speech to the media at the presidential office on Thursday, You said the responsibilities attached to her appointment “weighs heavily on [her] shoulders” and promised that she would work to “uncover ways to not only reverse the declining birthrate but also bring about structural changes in the country’s economy and society.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]