0
President Lee Jae-myung speaks during the 'Youth Budget Unboxing 2027' event held at the Blue House on the 28th. / Yonhap

The South Korean government will invest 43.3 trillion won in youth policies next year, a 53.5% increase from this year, strengthening support across developmental life stages ranging from employment and entrepreneurship to education, housing, asset building, marriage, and childbirth. The scale represents a 53.5% surge compared to this year.

The government estimated that a firstborn child born in a regionally preferential area next year whose parents earn 100% of the standard median income could receive maximum cumulative benefits of approximately 195.82 million won from birth to age 34. This is not a guaranteed lump sum for all youth, but rather the total sum of stage-by-stage support based on a hypothetical life trajectory.

On the 28th, the government held the 'Youth Budget Unboxing 2027' event at the Blue House, chaired by the president, and jointly announced the 'Comprehensive Investment Implementation Strategy by Youth Growth Stage' with relevant ministries.

The government plans to transition youth policies from individual project-based approaches to growth-stage investment models, focusing on restoring upward mobility in jobs and startups, narrowing starting-line disparities in education, housing, and assets, and enhancing quality of life in daily living and culture. Fiscal spending on youth initiatives will rise 53.5% from 28.2 trillion won this year to 43.3 trillion won next year.

First, step-by-step assistance will be strengthened from initial labor market entry to career development and settlement. A new first career project for college students will allow 60,000 students to undergo field training at enterprises and institutions, with the government and businesses each contributing 1.15 million won per month to provide a monthly training allowance of 2.3 million won.

The government will expand beneficiary quotas for the K-New Deal Academy from 10,000 to 50,000 individuals and increase the K-Digital Training artificial intelligence track from 10,000 to 20,000 participants. When hiring youth who have completed government capacity-building programs, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and middle-market enterprises will receive an annual hiring subsidy of 7.2 million won, while regional conglomerates participating in pilot initiatives will receive 3.6 million won annually.

In addition, subsidies aimed at encouraging long-term retention and supplementing income for young workers at SMEs and middle-market firms will expand from a maximum of 3.6 million won per year to 9 million won. The earned income tax reduction period for young employees at non-capital area SMEs will also be extended from the current five years to between six and 10 years, depending on the region.

Alongside these measures, authorities will introduce a Career Bank to issue integrated career recognition certificates by compiling freelance and gig work experience, credentials, education, and vocational training. Youth entrepreneurship support will also expand across the entire lifecycle, encompassing founder education, investment attraction, initial insurance premium assistance, and second-chance initiatives following business suspension or closure.

The government will support shared subscriptions to AI services for university students and establish new X+AI transition curricula combining existing academic majors with AI capabilities across 40 universities for 20,000 students. Full scholarships will be established at 30 regional national universities, excluding medical and pharmaceutical fields, and regional talent scholarship quotas for private regional university students will be expanded from 4,000 to 10,000 recipients.

To help young professionals continuously build their careers post-employment, the government will provide Career Jump-Up Packages. Initial phases will offer career mentoring for workplace adaptation and professional advancement, alongside expanded training for incumbent workers through employer-sponsored vocational training, industrial work-learning dual support, and core talent academies for middle-market enterprises.

The existing National Skills Bank system will be reorganized into an upgraded Career Bank that substantially expands integrated data, including freelance histories and work experience records. Guidelines governing win-win cooperation funds will also be refined to facilitate career transitions from SMEs and middle-market firms to conglomerates based on acquired competencies.

Startup assistance will be fortified as well. Selection quotas for the 'Entrepreneurship for All' program will rise from 15,000 to 20,000 individuals, and commercialization funding per person will be raised from 2 million won to 5 million won.

Dedicated youth startup funds will expand from 200 billion won to 400 billion won, and a startup insurance program will be introduced to hedge against the risks of business closure or suspension. Shared subscription support to lower the burden of AI service usage among university students and new X+AI transition training combining existing majors and backgrounds with AI will be instituted, bolstering the AI competencies of young entrepreneurs and regional talent alike.

Meanwhile, the government intends to broaden youth participation across policymaking and implementation by upgrading youth policy platforms to improve access and expanding youth participatory budgeting. Furthermore, by collecting public opinions, authorities plan to establish and announce the '2045 National Development Strategy' within the year to address structural transitions such as demographic changes, polarization, and AI-driven transformation.

                                                                                                           Kim Bo-young