South Korea To Produce 300,000 Jobs By 2025
On Wednesday, the South Korean government promised to create 300,000 jobs by 2025 to service its hardest-hit sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Korea's finance minister Hong Nam-ki revealed a road map on developing the service industry. The country will focus on improving the productivity of the segment and nurturing promising service providers.
"The country's service industry has lagged behind the manufacturing sector in terms of productivity and innovation," Hong said at a government meeting on the economy.
Under the road map, the government will help smaller shop owners and firms establish a smart business system to respond to the non-contact trend.
The South Korean government plans to resume the distribution of vouchers and coupons to spur consumption for using cultural and sports facilities and accommodation and dining-out services after the coronavirus cases are brought under control.
To nurture the service sector, the government plans to increase its investment in service-related research and development (R&D) to 7 trillion won (US$6.2 billion) over the next five years, up from 4 trillion won spent in 2016-2020.
The face-to-face service segment, such as restaurants and accommodations, took a beating from the new coronavirus outbreak. People have ceased purchasing and visiting shops on concerns of infection risks.
According to the statistics agency, last year, service output declined 2 percent on-year, far sharper than a 0.8 percent decline in its industrial output.
In a Yonhap News Agency report, South Korea lost 218,000 jobs last year, the biggest fall in more than two decades.
The accommodation and food service segment reported an on-year fall of 159,000 jobs, and the wholesale and retail sector lost 160,000 job posts in 2020
According to the latest number from Worldometer, South Korea recorded 90,816 coronavirus cases, 1,612 deaths, and 81,700 recovered.
South Korea started its first coronavirus vaccines on Friday to people at long-term care facilities.
