Finance minister nominee Hong Nam-ki says that though the number of people with jobs grew slightly on-month in October, the nation’s employment situation remains grave. 

Hong made the remark on Wednesday at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Seoul where he set up a team to prepare for his confirmation hearing. 

He told reporters that it is imperative to boost efforts to create jobs by breathing new life into the economy, adding that he will closely study changes in employment statistics and think hard about what further steps the government needs to take before reflecting them on economic policy guidelines for next year. 

Hong stressed that job creation is the most important task that lies before the nation’s economy.