S. Korea`s top priority is to save jobs, help smaller businesses: minister

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- The government will place top priority on helping small and medium-sized enterprises next year in a bid to prevent further job losses amid worsening economic conditions, a top policymaker said Friday.
"The first half of next year will be the worst period (for the South Korean
economy)," Finance Minister Kang Man-soo told a weekly crisis management meeting.
"We have paved the way for getting over the ongoing crisis but small and
medium-sized companies will have the most difficult time."
South Korea's jobless rate stood at 3.1 percent in November with job creation
falling to a 5-year low as companies refrained from hiring amid a bleak economic
outlook. The economy generated 78,000 new jobs last month, far less than the
government target of 200,000.
Kang said that most job losses occurred among those in their 20s and 30s, adding
that behind the slumping recruitment market are smaller companies struggling from
ongoing economic woes.
In a related comment, Kang called for the Ministry of Land, Transport and
Maritime Affairs to review its anti-speculation measures "from scratch,"
expressing concerns that "asset deflation" could derail government efforts to
prevent further job losses.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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