2023 Incheon Youth Policy Action Plan covers five major areas with 71 initiatives
Incheon hosted the Incheon Youth Policy Coordination Committee meeting and confirmed the “2023 Incheon Youth Policy Action Plan.”
▲ Incheon’s Mayor spent time sharing and communicating the central government’s and Incheon’s own youth policies during the “Central Government Youth Policy Aide-Incheon Metropolitan City Conference” at the Rose Hall (City Hall) on January 31. The Mayor also took commemorative photos with the guests.
The City has set the direction of its major policies for this year to support youth entrepreneurship, help young entrepreneurs spread their wings overseas, create jobs and improve the professional capacities of young workers, and offer customized support tailored to each step in the career cycle for younger individuals, provide housing support. In doing so, it finalized the “2023 Incheon Youth Policy Action Plan,” which includes a youth policy budget of KRW 105.1 billion, an increase of KRW16 billion from last year, to be spent across 71 action plans in five areas : jobs, housing, education, welfare/culture, and engagement/rights.
Incheon will invest KRW 21.8billion in 27 projects on jobs to promote youth entrepreneurship, overseas expansion, and job creation for younger generations.
To support youth entrepreneurship, the City will support venture companies and startup investment funds (funding goal: KRW 60 billion over three years), incorporate mentors from older generations to help young entrepreneurs start their own companies, and create sufficient space for youth startups.
It plans to support 100 young entrepreneurs (KRW 100 million each) for a total of KRW 10 billion over four years by promoting the Overseas Youth Expansion Support Project so that young people can take create new startups, take on new challenges, and look overseas for opportunities. Incheon will create jobs for 649 young people with a youth employment project led by the local industry, and support youth employment by subsiding exam fees for national professional licenses and certificates for young workers.
As for housing, the City Government will invest KRW 46.8 billion across eight initiatives to stabilize the housing situation for young adults and fulfill their demands.
The monthly rent subsidy(limited-time offer) for young adults previously covered applicants between 19 and 39 years of age, but the subsidy now covers applicants up to 39. Inaddition, Incheon is offering new support for interest payments on housing deposits (2%) and is guaranteeing the full refund of annual leasehold deposits upon maturity of each leasehold agreement. The youth residential complex (4,500 households in Geomdan New Town Work-Life Balance Village) and youth rental housing (2,800 units over the next five years) will continue in 2023.
In the field of education, Incheon will invest KRW 4.7 billion in 16 projects, including aviation maintenance (MRO), data/artificial intelligence (AI) technology, medical coordinator programs, cultural content, environment-friendly initiatives, international organizations, MICE, and public administration. The City has also decided to keep its focus on developing skilled workers with internship programs, student loan support, and subsidies on student loan interest payments.
The City is looking to invest KRW 30.4 billion in 15 welfare and culture projects aimed at creating a more stable living environment for young adults, and supporting their cultural and artistic activities.
Support for young adults leaving foster care will be eligible for financial support (KRW 10 million), and other youth initiatives, including the Dream Debit Card (up to KRW 3million in financial support for job-seeking activities), Welfare Points for Working Young Adults (up to KRW 1.2 million), and the Dream For Youth Bank Account (KRW 10 million in lump-sum payment upon monthly deposits for three years), will help younger generations secure their independence, job opportunities, and an asset base that can open up new possibilities. Furthermore, the City will support youth culture and tourism activities throughits youth culture and tourism projects, youth culture centers, and tester groups to evaluate unique venues across Incheon.
▲ The City has set the direction of its major policies for this year to support youth entrepreneurship, help young entrepreneurs spread their wings overseas, createjobs and improve the professional capacities of young workers, and offer customized support tailored to each step in the career cycle for younger individuals, provide housing support. In doing so, it finalized the “2023 Incheon Youth Policy Action Plan,” which includes a youth policy budget of KRW105.1 billion, an increase of KRW 16 billion from last year, to be spent across 71 action plans in five areas: jobs, housing, education, welfare/culture, and engagement/rights.
The City has set the direction of its major policies for this year to support youth entrepreneurship, help young entrepreneurs spread their wings overseas, create jobs and improve the professional capacities of young workers, and offer customized support tailored to each step in the career cycle for younger individuals, provide housing support. In doing so, it finalized the “2023 Incheon Youth Policy Action Plan,” which includes a youth policy budget of KRW 105.1 billion, an increase of KRW16 billion from last year, to be spent across 71 action plans in five areas:jobs, housing, education, welfare/culture, and engagement/rights.
Incheon will invest KRW 21.8 billion in 27projects on jobs to promote youth entrepreneurship, overseas expansion, and job creation for younger generations.
To support youth entrepreneurship, the City will support venture companies and startup investment funds (funding goal: KRW60 billion over three years), incorporate mentors from older generations to help young entrepreneurs start their own companies, and create sufficient space for youth startups.
It plans to support 100 young entrepreneurs(KRW 100 million each) for a total of KRW 10 billion over four years by promoting the Overseas Youth Expansion Support Project so that young people can take create new startups, take on new challenges, and look overseas for opportunities. Incheon will create jobs for 649 young people with a youth employment project led by the local industry, and support youth employment by subsiding exam fees for national professional licenses and certificates for young workers.
As for housing, the City Government will invest KRW 46.8 billion across eight initiatives to stabilize the housing situation for young adults and fulfill their demands.
The monthly rent subsidy (limited-timeoffer) for young adults previously covered applicants between 19 and 39 years of age, but the subsidy now covers applicants up to 39. In addition, Incheon is offering new support for interest payments on housing deposits (2%) and is guaranteeing the full refund of annual leasehold deposits upon maturity of each leasehold agreement. The youth residential complex (4,500 households in Geomdan New Town Work-Life Balance Village) and youth rental housing (2,800 units overthe next five years) will continue in 2023.
In the field of education, Incheon will invest KRW 4.7 billion in 16 projects, including aviation maintenance (MRO), data/artificial intelligence (AI) technology, medical coordinator programs, cultural content, environment-friendly initiatives, international organizations, MICE, and public administration. The City has also decided to keep its focus on developing skilled workers with internship programs, student loan support, and subsidies on student loan interest payments.
The City is looking to invest KRW 30.4billion in 15 welfare and culture projects aimed at creating a more stable living environment for young adults, and supporting their cultural and artistic activities.
Support for young adults leaving foster care will be eligible for financial support (KRW 10 million), and other youth initiatives, including the Dream Debit Card (up to KRW 3 million in financial support for job-seeking activities), Welfare Points for Working Young Adults(up to KRW 1.2 million), and the Dream For Youth Bank Account (KRW 10 millionin lump-sum payment upon monthly deposits for three years), will help younger generations secure their independence, job opportunities, and an asset base that can open up new possibilities. Furthermore, the City will support youth culture and tourism activities through its youth culture and tourism projects, youth culture centers, and tester groups to evaluate unique venues across Incheon.
Finally, in the field of youth engagement and rights, Incheon Metropolitan City is investing KRW 1.1 billion across five projects to promote youth participation in society and create a foundation for youth activities.
Expanding youth engagement opportunities with more weight pulled behind youth engagement committees, vitalizing youth engagement organizations such as youth policy networks, and promoting youth community projects are all part of Incheon’s plans going forward. The number of youth activities and support venues (recreational bases)will increase drastically from four to eight last year, and the Youth Portal will be upgraded, offering a one-stop system for comprehensive youth support.
Members of the Youth Policy Coordination Committee proposed various initiatives and gave their feedback on Incheon’s youth policies, and the City announced that it is committed to reflecting them in its policy decisions.
Vice Chairperson Kim Je-woong of the Committee requested an increase in the budget for Incheon’s Youth Monthly Rent Subsidy project, and Committee Member Kim Gyeong-soo said that it would be a good idea to identify youth issues that younger generations can identify with and to structurally improve the basis for youth engagement. Kim also proposed a forum for public discussions, such as a Youth Week event, to communicate with the public in different ways as well.
Committee Member JeongSang-min said that the burden faced by young adults is being compounded due to the global rise in interest rates, economic slowdown, and an unstable housing situation stemming from plummeting real estate prices. He requested that Incheon's new housing rental deposit interest subsidy and education on the rights and obligations of home owners and tenants in each youth venue be implemented with a better effort to help create a more stable housing environment for young people across the City.
Meanwhile, another Committee Member, Lee Ji-hee, suggested promoting youth policies in 2023 through different channels, and Park Chang-eon said thathe is looking forward to turning Incheon into a city where young adults can truly be happy.
