President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the government has endeavored to improve employment conditions but it must admit that efforts have not been enough.
Chairing a meeting of this top aides, Moon said his heart is very heavy to see job conditions worsening instead of improving, adding that what to fear the most in policy making is not facing obstacles but losing public trust.
He asked for the top office and the government's economic officials to work as a perfect team to give the public confidence that the government is doing its best to overcome the difficult employment situation.
He asked officials to strive with the stern resolve that they may lose their jobs should they fail.
The president said there are sectors and age groups where job conditions are improving and where conditions are worsening.
He also noted structural factors that can't be resolved quickly, such as changes in demographics, industrial restructuring and trends of automation and online shopping.
Moon's remarks come three days after Statistics Korea announced that only five thousand jobs were added in July on-year, the lowest increase in more than eight years.