[fn Editorial] The Fundamental Cause of the Cambodia Incident Is Chronic Unemployment Among People in Their 20s

The lives of young people, squeezed out of the job market and burdened by debt, are weighing heavily on Korean society. We cannot ignore the reality that youth, who should be experiencing the brightest period of their lives, are unable to find hope. The recent cases of kidnapping and confinement involving South Koreans in Cambodia must be viewed in this context. Many young people, unable to even enter the job market and unable to pay off the interest on borrowed money, have chosen Cambodia as an escape route after reaching a point of despair. Of course, succumbing to the temptation of making quick money and committing wrongdoing is a serious issue that must be addressed. However, Korean society cannot turn a blind eye to its structural responsibility for failing to provide young people with a fair chance to settle into normal lives.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (formerly Statistics Korea), last month’s employment rate for young people aged 15 to 29 stood at 45.1%, marking a decline for the 17th consecutive month compared to the same period last year. This prolonged downturn in youth employment rates, especially among those just entering the workforce, is the first since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2009. The drop in the number of employed is most severe among young people compared to all age groups. Last month, the number of employed people in their 20s was 3.43 million, a decrease of about 130,000 from a year earlier. The number of employed people in their 20s has fallen for 23 consecutive months since November 2022, in stark contrast to the increase of about 130,000 in the 30s age group and 380,000 among those aged 60 and above last month.
The current youth unemployment crisis is not a temporary shock caused by external factors. The supply of quality jobs cannot keep up with demand, and even when jobs are available, they increasingly go to experienced workers. Large-scale corporate investment is more often targeted overseas than domestically. While the global trend toward protectionism is partly to blame for companies shifting production abroad, stringent domestic regulations and inflexible labor laws are also significant factors.
While new jobs at large enterprises are drying up, small and medium-sized enterprises are suffering from chronic labor shortages. The widening gap in employee benefits between large enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises has deepened polarization, causing young people to shun smaller firms. Although the issue of job mismatching has been raised countless times, the government has yet to present effective solutions. There is an urgent need for consideration and compromise from militant unions at large enterprises, as well as efforts to foster a healthy job culture where workers can gradually move to better positions.
Young people without income are slowly falling into a debt trap. According to the five major commercial banks, as of the first half of this year, the delinquency rate on household loans among people in their 20s was the highest of any age group. The number of people in their 20s with bad credit has surpassed 60,000, a 25% increase compared to the end of 2021. More and more young people, unable to borrow from institutional lenders, are being pushed into private lending. With no more borrowing options and no income, these young people on the edge are inevitably drawn to the lure of high-paying jobs overseas.
A country where young people have no hope has no future. New jobs that can serve as stepping stones for youth do not simply appear on their own. We must create an environment that stimulates corporate hiring and seek fundamental solutions to job mismatching. Young people should also remember that there are no easy jobs that pay large sums of money.