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| President Moon Jae-in gives his New Year's address at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Creating a safe environment and increasing support programs for the needy and the unemployed will be one of the key focuses this year, President Moon Jae-in said.
"The government will strive to ensure that the social safety net runs in conjunction with the employment safety net," Moon said Thursday in a speech before the New Year's press conference at Cheong Wa Dae.
Moon acknowledged the need to establish a safe work environment and enhance safety in basic infrastructure. The need came from several devastating incidents in recent months, including the derailment of a KTX bullet train, a communications blackout from fire at KT building, a deadly gas leak at a pension in Gangneung, and the death of an irregular worker at a power plant in Taean, South Chungcheong Province.
"People were unnerved by a series of accidents that were closely related to everyday life," he said. "All these incidents came together to alert the government to the fact that many more safety-related areas requiring attention still remain."
The President also said the government will take more responsibility and have a stronger resolve to prevent industrial accidents. He said, "not a single life was lost" from a construction crane last year after the government made efforts to prevent deaths from accidents involving such cranes. He promised to halve the number of deaths from industrial accidents by 2022.
He said the government tripled the allowance for people in low-income brackets, saying a total of 4.9 trillion won ($4.4 billion) would support 3.34 million households.
In addition, the government plans to establish an unemployment assistance system that provides support in living expenses for people searching for jobs as well as providing employment insurance coverage for more people.
Moon also highlighted the extra health benefits that have become available to the public this year, such as national health insurance coverage for renal ultrasonography and an MRI of the head and abdominal area. Coverage for dental care and traditional Korean medicine will also be expanded, he said.
He pledged more bold investments into children's education.
Close to 1,100 public kindergartens will be established along with 685 daycare centers this year. "I earlier promised that four out of 10 children can attend public preschools and daycare centers by 2022, but I'll advance the schedule to 2021," he said.
"Eight out of 10 elementary school students from double-income households will be able to use state-assisted daycare programs."
The President also pledged to enhance national competitiveness by nurturing more skilled innovators.
President Moon also vowed to work to eliminate gender inequality, calling the situation, where Korea ranks almost bottom in gender equality indexes and women held massive rallies for their rights, a "shameful reality."
"This administration has made efforts to break the glass ceiling, such as appointing more women as senior public officials. Through such efforts, the female employment rate increased last year and there was improvement in encouraging maternity leave or childcare leave," Moon said.
"We will keep working so that one gender would not distress or harm the other and both genders can work as equals in social and economic activities."
