The government has established a large-scale support plan for stabilizing housing, creating jobs, and asset formation for the youth.

On the 2nd, Han Duck-soo, the acting President and Prime Minister, chaired the 15th Youth Policy Coordination Committee at the DMC Tower in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and finalized the '2025 Youth Policy Implementation Plan' worth 28 trillion won.

The '2025 Youth Policy Implementation Plan' includes a total of 339 tasks across five areas: employment, housing, education, living standards, and participation and rights, focusing on policy support that young people can tangibly feel.

**Expansion of Job Creation and Startup Support for Youth**

In the employment sector, 26,000 youth interns (5,000 from central ministries and 21,000 from public institutions) will be selected. The 'Future Tomorrow Work Experience Program', which provides work experience opportunities through public-private collaboration, will increase its target from 48,000 to 58,000 participants.

In particular, the target for the Youth Challenge Support Program for those who have given up on job seeking will rise from 9,000 to 12,000.

Additionally, a program to support young people employed in high-demand job sectors will provide a youth job leap incentive of 4.8 million won over two years.

To promote youth entrepreneurship, a 60 billion won youth startup fund will be established, and the maximum amount allowed for local government contracts for youth startup companies will dramatically increase from 20 million won to 50 million won.

**Supply of 117,000 Housing Units for Youth Stabilization**

In the housing sector, a total of 117,000 housing units, including public sale and rental homes, will be supplied to promote residential stability for young people.

If participants in the Youth Housing Dream Account win a lottery for homes, they will be supported to borrow up to 80% of the sale price for a maximum of 40 years at a minimum interest rate of 2% through the newly established 'Youth Housing Dream Loan'.

Furthermore, by integrating the Jeonse loan for youth with the Boteum loan, the limit on the Jeonse deposit will be expanded from 200 million won to 300 million won, and the loan limit will increase from 100 million won to 200 million won, thereby lowering the barrier to home purchasing.

**Expansion of Support in Education, Living Standards, and Welfare Sectors**

In the education sector, the number of beneficiaries for the national scholarship program for university students will be expanded, and the number of recipients for the work-study scholarship will significantly increase from 140,000 to 200,000.

For over 50,000 science and engineering master's and doctoral students, a new research living expense grant will be established to create an environment conducive to their studies and research.

In the living standards and welfare sectors, to support the asset formation of young people, the government contribution to the 'Youth Leap Account' will be raised from a maximum of 24,000 won to 33,000 won per month. Additionally, the matching support linked to the preparation savings account for service members will be increased from 400,000 won to 550,000 won, aiding young people in preparing for their futures while serving in the military.

To facilitate the participation of the youth in policy decision-making processes and their rights, the online youth policy platform 'Ontong Youth' will make it easier to find information on youth projects from central and local governments.

Moreover, the government will expand the number of youth participants on government committees, making youth participation mandatory in 227 government committees to ensure that young voices are reflected in the policy decision-making process.

Han Duck-soo stated, "The government has been actively promoting policies that young people can feel in various areas," and added, "We will continue our efforts to alleviate the difficulties faced by youth through ongoing policy development, improvement, and the establishment of a second basic youth policy plan."

Image source: News1, illustrative photographs to aid understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank