On the 14th, Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (hereinafter referred to as the MSS) held an on-site meeting in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, with the Gyeongnam Regional SMEs and Startups Administration, the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office Changwon Branch, and related organizations (SMEs and Startups Agency Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters, IBK Industrial Bank Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters) to hear directly about the difficulties local SMEs face in managing their human resources and to resolve them.
Before the meeting, Minister Oh Young-joo held an event at the Changwon branch of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea to congratulate and encourage the 30,000th employee to sign up for the ‘Preferential Savings Deduction for Employees of Small and Medium Enterprises.’
The 'Preferential Savings Deduction for Employees of Small and Medium Enterprises' reached 30,000 subscribers in just 116 days since its launch on October 22nd last year. Small and medium enterprises and employees are showing great interest and participation as they can expect a high-yield savings effect of up to 13.5% per year, including a preferential interest rate compared to other savings products of commercial banks, while the company burden is reduced.
In fact, compared to the 'Youth Employment Tomorrow Savings Plan' introduced in 2018, which reached 28,000 people in 7 months after its launch, this is about twice as fast.
The 30,000th subscriber is Ms. Nam (28 years old), a young woman working at SDI&T Co., Ltd., a precision parts manufacturing company located in Changwon, Gyeongnam. Subscriber Nam said, “I’ve been working at the company for about 4 years, and I’m grateful to the company for allowing me to subscribe to this product that provides benefits while working at a small business,” and added, “I hope that there will be more products that provide more support to employees of small businesses working in the region.”
The meeting held afterwards was attended by representatives of seven manufacturing SMEs in the Changwon and Gyeongnam regions that have difficulties in managing human resources, including root industries, machine processing, and shipbuilding, as well as officials from regional SME administrations, local employment and labor offices, and related organizations.
Minister Oh Young-joo stated in his opening remarks, “Since the recent employment trend is not good, it is expected that small and medium-sized enterprises in the region will face many difficulties in managing their human resources.” He then said, “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and other relevant ministries and organizations will work together to provide support so that we can actively reduce the mismatch of human resources among job seekers.”
In the free discussion session that followed, CEO Lee Gye-seung of M&SI Co., Ltd. suggested expanding tax breaks for small and medium-sized enterprises that have expanded employment. CEO Han Sang-geun of Deokbogi Machinery Co., Ltd. suggested support such as interest rate reductions for small and medium-sized enterprises that have increased employment to ease the burden of labor costs for additional employment. CEO Lee Hyeon-seok of Wonchang Danjo Co., Ltd. suggested relaxing the employment permit system for foreign workers and introducing a customized visa system for each region.
Regarding this, Minister Oh Young-joo said, “We will strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and other related ministries on tax breaks for small and medium-sized enterprises that increase employment, visas for foreigners, and employment permit systems,” and “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will also strengthen customized support to resolve regional small and medium-sized enterprise manpower issues, such as support for asset formation and personnel matching for small and medium-sized enterprise employees.”
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