The Democratic Party of Korea has begun discussions on building a dedicated system for youth policy, after confirming a loss of support among voters in their 20s and 30s in the June 3 local elections. The aim is to establish a dedicated organization at the government-wide level to spur the development of field-oriented policies and improve execution.
According to political circles Thursday, the Democratic Party's National Youth Committee and National University Student Committee held a policy debate titled "Exploring Ways to Build a National Youth Policy Dedicated System" at the National Assembly on Wednesday, gathering opinions from experts. Attendees included Rep. Mo Kyung-jong, chairman of the Democratic Party's National Youth Committee; Rep. Jeon Eun-su, who won the by-election in Asan B, South Chungcheong Province; Suh Bok-kyung, vice chair of the Youth Policy Coordination Committee; Lee Yoon-joo, head of a division at the National Youth Policy Institute; Jung Se-jung, research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs; and Oh Chang-seok, chairman of the Youth Foundation.
They concentrated their calls on creating a dedicated youth policy ministry or agency. Suh, who delivered the keynote presentation, said, "Youth instability is a problem connected to jobs, income, and housing, but policies are scattered." She added, "We need comprehensive and integrated policy execution capacity that transcends the silos between ministries."
Referring to the reality of young people moving their schools, workplaces, and residences multiple times, she stressed, "It is important to build a one-stop policy support system where the same services can be received anywhere." She added, "If central policies are not consistently delivered to the field, the sense of impact will inevitably be significantly lower. We need to continuously check the policy execution process and organically connect the central government, metropolitan local governments, and basic local governments."
The scale of the government's youth policy programs has been steadily expanding. The related budget, which was around 24 trillion won in 2021 when the basic youth policy plan began, has grown to about 30 trillion won this year, and the number of participating central administrative agencies has expanded from 32 to 48. As of this year, youth policy tasks number 389 across five fields including jobs, education, and housing.
However, critics point out that the sense of impact in the field remains low during the youth policy-making process. Lee said, "Young people don't think they lack opportunities to participate in the policy-making process. Rather, they feel they are called to too many meetings and committees. The problem is that they cannot tell how their opinions were reflected in policy." She continued, "Youth should no longer be policy beneficiaries but participate as co-decision-makers," proposing the need to establish a youth assembly and introduce a youth impact assessment system.
Oh also said, "The government is spending 30 trillion won on youth policy, but young people themselves do not feel what benefits they are receiving." He said, "We need to create a structure where policy reaches out to youth and build a unified promotion and delivery system."
Cautionary views on creating a dedicated system were also raised. Jung said, "Youth policy is ultimately connected to the entire social structure, including employment, housing, and welfare." He pointed out, "Even if a dedicated organization is created, if it fails to secure real authority, budget, and an execution system, it could end up as just another administrative body."
Kim Min-sung, director of the Youth Policy Coordination Division at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said, "We sympathize with the need to strengthen youth-related research functions and the execution system." He added, "Whatever form it takes, it is important to create a structure in which all ministries continuously pay attention to youth issues."
The Democratic Party pledged to support the legislation needed to create a dedicated youth policy agency. In a congratulatory address, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae said, "To support youth, the growth engine of the Republic of Korea, we must solve structural problems such as jobs, universities, housing, the labor market structure, and regional disparities." He added, "We will firmly support efforts to ensure that building a dedicated youth policy system leads to concrete legislation and institutions."
Mo also said, "We need a solid dedicated system that brings scattered policies together and ensures those policies reach where young people are." He said, "I will exert all the authority I have to the end so that this debate becomes a starting point that leads to legislation and institutions."
