PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 Revitalization of domestic market, reforming labor market are...

ARIRANG NEWS 22:00 Good to have you with us at this hour. I′m Daniel Choy here to provide you with the latest from in and out of Korea. Title: Revitalization of domestic market, reforming labor market are gov′t pillars for economic recovery in 2015 Hard as they try,... government measures to boost the economy are not taking hold as quickly as most would like. Heading into next year,... the strategy will center around two objectives, fueling domestic demand... and reforming the labor market. Park Ji-won explains. Revitalizing the domestic market and carrying out structural reforms of the labor market: these are two pillars of the government′s economic initiative next year as it tries to build momentum toward growth. First, the expansion of the domestic market. The government aims to achieve an economic growth rate in the four-percent range next year,... and has realized that a supplementary budget alone won′t be enough to get the job done. So the plan now calls for inducing more large-scale investments from the private sector next year... by streamlining the complicated process of the private investment,... and lowering thresholds for private investments. For example,... the government hopes to attract private investment to areas where only the government can investment,... such as prisons. However,... due to resistance from the opposition,... it remains to be seen whether the plans will be realized. Increasing labor market flexibility is another pillar of next year′s goal,... specifically reducing the number of temporary jobs... and reforming the regular job system. About one-third of all current workers are employed on a temporary basis. This means their salaries are lower and that they are placed in more vulnerable working conditions than their regular counterparts. To get the private sector to transition more temporary employees into regular positions,... it hopes to reform the rigid salary systems, especially for high-paid, regular workers. However, experts stress that securing enough of a social safety net for the jobless,... such as extending unemployment benefits and providing more job training should also be a priority,... so as not to decrease domestic consumption. Park Ji-won, Arirang News. Title: Number of elderly households in poverty doubles from 2006-2013: report The number of elderly Koreans living in poverty is rising at a troubling rate. The Korea Economic Research Institute says the number of elderly households below the poverty line came to one-point-five million last year, which is more than double the total from 2006. Their average income each month? Three-hundred-42 U.S. dollars,... at least 60 percent of which comes from subsidies handed out by the government and non-profits. The report noted that welfare policies for the elderly needed to focus more on providing financial support rather than trying to find them employment. The average age of an elderly Korean citizen living in poverty last ye