Big businesses to work with SMEs to hire more workers

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's big business groups said Thursday that they have agreed to work closely with smaller-sized companies to create more jobs.

In a meeting of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), conglomerate heads and
CEOs concurred that the sluggish domestic economy is a source of concern and
could affect growth.

"The way to overcome this situation is by expanding investment and creating
more jobs," a statement by the interest group representing large
family-owned conglomerates said.

However, it said that since there is a limit to how many jobs can be created in
the manufacturing sector, which is run by conglomerates, small- and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) should play a bigger role.

In order to help SMEs and the country create more jobs, FKI member companies will
expand their current university student intern program from 6,000 positions to
10,000, they said.

Companies added that they will work to analyze the cause behind the growing
number of unemployed young people, who numbered 330,000 in June, and find a way
to address the problem.

South Korean originally aimed to push growth up to 6 percent this year, but
downgraded its expectations to the upper 4-percent level. Expectations for job
creation have been trimmed to 200,000 new jobs this year from the goal of over
300,000 set earlier in the year.

The FKI leadership said that it members, along with SMEs, will hold talks to
ensure that the 100.2 trillion-won investment plan by the country's top 600
companies moves forward without a hitch.

Conglomerates, meanwhile, said that while unemployment remains a source of
concern, the top 400 companies are expecting to hire a total of 41,404 people
this year, up 12.1 percent from the same period in 2007, representing the biggest
increase in the past few year.

Heads of Hyundai Motor Co., SK Group, Daelim, Kumho Asiana, Hanjin, Hanwha,
Doosan and Lotte were present at the meeting.