(Unofficial translation)

Despite difficulties, our economy is moving in the right direction. My Administration has been making consistent efforts over the past two years – with the top priority in state affairs being job creation. This is because creating jobs constitutes the best means to improve the everyday lives of the people. As a result, employment conditions are showing clear signs of improvement in terms of both the quantity and quality.

According to the August employment statistics released last week, the number of people employed increased by more than 450,000 over the same month last year. August also saw the highest employment rate ever recorded since Korea began tracking the data, and the unemployment rate has also fallen to a record low.

The quality of employment is also steadily improving. The number of regular, full-time employees has increased by more than 490,000 and those covered by employment insurance have steadily increased. Despite the drop in the youth population, the youth employment rate is at its highest point since 2005 as the number of employed young people has increased by a large margin.

Monthly increases in employment will fluctuate going forward, but the number of people employed is expected to increase by more than 200,000 this year compared to last year, far exceeding the original target of 150,000.

The Government's active employment and fiscal policies have produced this valuable achievement amid challenging conditions and circumstances, including the expansion of global economic uncertainty and the restructuring of manufacturing.

The Government will continue to consistently push ahead with its active employment policy. In addition, we will channel all of our energy and efforts into boosting domestic consumption and investments to focus more on job creation in the private sector. We will also do all that we can to resolve employment-related problems in the manufacturing sector and among specific age groups where job numbers are still too low.

In order to respond to ever-widening polarization and income inequality, the Government will, in a consistent and more active manner, push the policy of increasing household and disposable incomes that it has prioritized up to now.

Thanks to the policies to increase the minimum wage, basic pension for the elderly and child benefits, both earned and transfer incomes have risen: Household income in all quintile income groups increased in the 2nd quarter of this year. 

Income for the poorest 20 percent has declined for five consecutive quarters, but it has now increased, albeit slightly. This is a significant policy achievement, given the structural factor of a quickly aging population. 

Of course, we still have a long way to go. We have to reverse the tide of polarization and income inequality by further increasing the income of the poorest 20 percent. The Government will further enhance its efforts to increase low-income families’ household income going forward. The Earned Income Tax Credit will be sharply increased, and the number of people eligible for basic livelihood security benefits will rise. Beginning next year, a Korean-type employment support system designed to help the marginalized find jobs and provide them with unemployment insurance will be introduced. 

While minimizing the damage to our companies from the global economic slowdown, intensifying protectionism, Japan’s economic retaliation and other external threats, the Government will continue to maintain its resolve to take this as an opportunity to lift the Korean economy to a new height. 

Fortunately, the Government’s all-out response combined with the unified strength of the people over the past two months has led to meaningful accomplishments. Production of some materials and parts has been localized, and exemplary cases of mutually beneficial cooperation between large companies and SMEs have been created. This is only the beginning. We will turn this into an opportunity to transform our economy into a strong economy without fail by pulling together and accelerating our efforts. 

Consistency is especially important in foreign affairs and security. Our future lies in a new order of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. To this end, the Government has strived unwaveringly, and noticeable achievements are starting to be seen. 

Unimaginable, remarkable changes have taken place on the Korean Peninsula where the risk of war remained at the highest in the world until 2018. Three inter-Korean summits and two North Korea-United States summits have been held, and the leaders of the two Koreas and the United States even came together at Panmunjeom. All these are unprecedented and historic events.  

Changes are underway even at this moment. Working-level dialogue between North Korea and the United States will resume soon, and the unwavering trust and determination to achieve peace that the leaders of the two Koreas and the United States share will be the driving force behind the advancement of the peace process on the Peninsula. The Korean Government, by doing whatever it can in any capacity, will confidently usher in a future of common prosperity through the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula and a peace-driven economy. 

In that regard, I will attend the U.N. General Assembly to be held in New York next week. Peace on the Korean Peninsula is not only a task for us but also a historic task to dissolve the last remaining Cold War rivalry on earth. When the international community stands together, peace on the Korean Peninsula will become more steadfast. 

I’ll work to turn this General Assembly into an opportunity for the international community, including the United Nations, to more actively participate and cooperate in the efforts to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula together. In addition, at the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, I will actively endorse and support dialogue between North Korea and the United States. This will also be an opportunity to have heart-to-heart discussions and gather our wisdom to come up with a plan to take Korea-U.S. relations to a new height in a forward-looking way, building upon the rock-solid Korea-U.S. alliance.