President Park Geun-hye opened the first youth committee to create jobs and cultivate a youth-friendly culture on Tuesday and pinpointed creativity as the key to solving the problems of young people.

“To maximize the potential of the youth, a society where creativity is prioritized over educational background and a start-up ecosystem where the youth can challenge with creative ideas must be created,” Park said.

It was the first gathering of the Presidential Committee on the Young Generation headed by Dasan Networks CEO Nam Min-woo with 19 other civilian members.

Relevant ministers including Choi Mun-kee for science, ICT and future planning, Seo Nam-soo for education, Phang Ha-nam for employment and labor, and Cho Yun-sun for gender equality and family were also present as official members.

Park, who enjoys wide support from older conservatives, has touted youth-friendly policy as one of her key policy pillars since her presidential campaign to woo younger voters. The youth committee is one of the three presidential committees Park established after her inauguration.

Citing how a culture that is created via the Internet and social networking services represents the energy of the generation, Park noted, “Such creativity and vigor of our youth hold the key to solving problems related to youth.”

Park also underscored government policy support for those that wish to advance into unchartered areas as global talent and to expand youth employment in the public sector.

The committee reported to the president that their priority was to create jobs by tapping into various industries.

They also vowed close collaboration amongst ministries to promote policies and plan various projects to provide job information and mentoring services.

“Through the committee, we plan to realize the president’s determination in cooperation with other ministries. Our first goal is to create jobs for the youth. We will cooperate with each ministry to create jobs and help more young people open businesses by removing obstacles,” said Nam at a press briefing.

For instance, they will look into policies and ways to introduce a “job creation index” to apply to small and mid-sized companies for them to come up with business ideas that can provide wider job opportunities for youth.

The committee, which will operate in three sub-divisions, held an office opening ceremony in Gwanghwamun after the meeting.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)