'We should have been more sensitive and acted faster,' Kim says of voting paper shortfall; calls for overhaul of marriage penalties, expanded military injury insurance

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok presides over a ministerial meeting on youth policy at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok presides over a ministerial meeting on youth policy at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Tuesday that the shortage of ballot papers during the recent election was "deeply regrettable" and that the government should have responded faster.

"Suffrage is the foundation of democracy, so the National Assembly, the political community and relevant agencies will take young people's concerns seriously," Kim said, chairing a ministerial meeting on youth policy at the Government Seoul Building. "We should have been more sensitive to the issue and moved quickly to find a solution. The fact that we did not has deepened my sense of responsibility."

Kim also reflected on a meeting he held with university student representatives on June 7 to discuss the ballot shortage, saying he had felt "ashamed."

Turning to the policy agenda discussed at the meeting, Kim said the government must find ways to reverse a situation in which young people who start families face disadvantages — rather than benefits — in housing, finance and taxation.

He also said that strengthening incentives for companies that create jobs is "very timely and important" given the coexistence of youth unemployment and labor shortages at small and medium-sized enterprises. He added that linking youth hiring to sectors vulnerable to the AI transition carries significant meaning in terms of easing polarization across industries.

In addition, Kim called for expanding injury insurance coverage for military service, noting that while troops receive free treatment at military hospitals when hurt or ill during service, some suffer lasting aftereffects after discharge.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com