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Gwangju and GRELA enter agreement on local innovation project

The Gwangju Metropolitan Government has set out to accelerate its efforts to create jobs for locals.

The metropolitan government and the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Administration (GRELA) held a ceremony in the business room at the Gwangju City Hall on March 22, attended by both Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun and GRELA President Kim Yeong-mi, to sign the agreement between the two institutions on their partnership for undertaking the Local Innovation Project 2018.

The Local Innovation Project is one of the policy programs of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) that support the creation of jobs at the local level. The Gwangju Metropolitan Government’s plan for the Job Creation and Innovation Project will be implemented with a funding of KRW 2.5 billion via the MOEL’s Local Innovation Project as well as KRW 0.89 billion from the city’s own budget.

The project will help Gwangju achieve seven policy objectives, including: (1) creating and increasing jobs for locals; (2) running the Job Hope Factory Program for young jobseekers; (3) strengthening the foundation for more jobs and employment in Gwangju; (4) energizing the after-sales service market for the auto industry; (5) fostering new energy industries to create jobs; (6) increasing support for home appliance manufacturers; and (7) supporting the optics and bio-medicine industries.

The metropolitan government will increase advice, consultation, and training services available for major local industries, including automobiles and renewable energy, so that more skilled jobs could be created in those industries. Moreover, the metropolitan government will also increase support for local businesses, particularly with respect to the development of prototype products, in the hopes of creating more jobs.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Government also intends to merge its job program, already on support from the national government, with the Local Innovation Project and provide advice for businesses seeking to create jobs for locals.

Mayor Yoon explained: “The Gwangju Employment Model Program, which was the first of its kind ever to be attempted by a local government in Korea, was named one of the 100 major policy tasks to be supported by the national government after President Moon Jae-in’s election. We expect to enhance the effectiveness of the program through the administrative and financial partnership with GRELA.”

Source Text

Source: Newsis (Mar. 22, 2018)

** This article was translated from the Korean.