KB News Desk
Shrinking opportunities leave young people increasingly vulnerable, Lee says
President Lee Jae Myung on Friday unveiled the government’s key budget plans for young people for 2027 ahead of the formal announcement of next year’s budget, including a university internship program and increased housing support.
During an event titled “Youth Budget Unboxing 2027” at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Lee said young people were one of the country’s most vulnerable generations amid mounting challenges over jobs, housing and financial security.
It is the first time the South Korean government has disclosed budget plans for a specific policy group before unveiling the full national budget.
“Young people used to be seen as the most dynamic generation, but they have now become a generation with the fewest opportunities and, in a real sense, a vulnerable generation,” Lee said during the event.
He said the government has a responsibility to create an environment in which young people can receive opportunities commensurate with their efforts, rather than simply urging them to work harder.
Lee also pointed to the growing difficulty of recovering from failure, saying old Korean sayings such as “hardship in youth is worth experiencing” and “failure is the mother of success” no longer reflect the reality facing many young people.
“A single failure can leave someone with debt and make it difficult to try again,” he said.
Lee said economic growth was necessary to expand opportunities for younger generations, stressing the need to “increase the size of the pie.”
The government said its 2027 youth policies would be organized around different stages of young people’s lives, including employment, asset building, housing and marriage.
During the event, the Ministry of Planning and Budget outlined the overall direction of the package, while officials from the Financial Services Commission and the ministries of land, education, employment, culture and health presented programs in their respective areas.
Among measures previously discussed as part of the 2027 budget plan are a university internship semester program that would allow students to receive academic credits for internships and expanded public housing near major public transportation hubs.
The government has also been reviewing measures aimed at helping young people build financial assets and reducing education and housing costs.
“We need to ask ourselves whether we have been designing policies from the perspective of administrative convenience rather than that of young people,” Lee said. “We should think of these issues as if they concerned our own sons and daughters, and consider them over and over again.”
