South Korea’s government will expand support across the youth employment cycle after the employment rate for people aged 15–29 reached 43.6% in the first half of this year, its lowest level in five years. The Ministry of Employment and Labor’s proposed next-year budget totals 38.95 trillion Korean won, with youth employment spending rising by 700 billion won to 3.3 trillion won. Measures include internships for 60,000 university students, expanded advanced-sector training, tailored services for 160,000 young adults, mentoring, broader hiring incentives and increased job-seeking support. A new Youth Opportunity Fund will also offer unemployed young people interest-free loans of up to 20 million Korean won, repayable at 2–3% annually after employment or business creation.