Good morning, fellow Koreans,

Last week, we had by-elections. Looking at the results, I was able to reaffirm the aspirations of young people for change.

With two global crises that descended one after the other over the past years, many young people feel deep anxieties about their future as well as the present. As a society, we should give much thought to how we can provide stability and give hope to young people.

As the President in charge of running state affairs, I am keenly aware of the necessity to contemplate more and somehow find solutions. Working-class people are affected by the shadow of crisis the most. To stabilize their lives, the issues of adding job opportunities and curbing inflation must be resolved.

More than anything else, when formulating policy measures, the Government is giving special consideration to creating jobs for high school graduates.

A while ago, I visited one of the Meister high schools in Gwangju. Meister high schools are a type of vocational high school, which were opened last year with strong support from the Government to nurture promising students who will take the lead in developing a technology powerhouse.

In the old days, it was believed that vocational schools were mainly attended by students who could not afford to go to college. At present, however, Meister high schools are becoming popular among students with the admission competition rate of more than one to three.

In Gwangju, I met a second-year student named Kim Sin-su, who was proud of the fact that he had already landed a job with Samsung Electronics. He proudly said, “I used to envy my friends who will go to college, but now they envy me.”

Recently, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company became the talk of the town because many excellent students in the top 10 percent of the whole class applied for the company when it announced its first attempt to fill administrative positions with high school graduates. Many applicants said that they persuaded their teachers and parents, who were insisting that they go to college.

I want to lavish praise on them for their courage. For these kinds of students, we must pave the way for a society that will value the individual’s capabilities more than their academic backgrounds.

As a matter of fact, our society is steeped in an undesirable ethos of placing more emphasis on academic background than anything else. This serious trend has escalated into a social problem. In Korea, eight out of every 10 high school graduates go to college. It is the highest number among the OECD member countries, almost double the number in major advanced countries like the United States and those in Europe.

This excessively high academic inflation is a huge waste in social and economic terms and the main culprit behind the recent youth unemployment. Some students struggle to pay for their university education but they still have a tough time getting a job that meets their expectations even after graduation. On the other hand, numerous businesses are struggling to recruit employees on their industrial sites. 

My fellow citizens,

A new era is dawning where those who are equipped with necessary capabilities are recognized and can succeed, regardless of their academic backgrounds.

In Germany, a technology powerhouse, many young students opt for schools specializing in technology instead of universities and grow into professional engineers. After graduation, most of them work for small and medium-sized companies, producing the best goods in the world for export.

The number of SMEs with sales of less than US$4 billion that rank in the top three in terms of global market share in their respective fields amounts to 1,200. They are dubbed as “hidden champions.” Another technology powerhouse Japan has about 100 such SMEs. In the meantime, Korea has a meager 25 of them.

A reading of world history reveals that countries that have many such strong SMEs and respect engineers emerged as the most powerful nations in the world. 

Though not matching the hidden champions in Germany, the number of small yet strong domestic businesses equipped with a great technological competitive edge is on the rise to reach 1,500. They create as many jobs as conglomerates do and constitute the driving force behind growth. Accordingly, the Government is exerting great efforts to nurture them.

The technical prowess of young Koreans stands out, and thus it can be said that the Korean best is the world best. 

At the WorldSkills London 2011 held last month, Korea secured first place for the third consecutive year, leaving behind such traditional technological powerhouses as Japan, Switzerland and Germany. Out of 41 championships so far, Korea grabbed 17 championship titles, which is a monumental achievement, indeed.

I hope these promising young students will choose SMEs with potential, instead of pursuing only conglomerates, and play a leading role in helping those businesses grow into small yet strong enterprises.

Compared to the past, our recognition of engineers is changing in a significant manner. A new era has to arrive where parents can take more pride in nurturing their children into renowned engineers than in sending them to university.

The Government has so far made continued efforts to usher in such a new era where abilities come before academic background and engineers are highly respected and treated well.  

Last year, the Government opened Meister high schools with the aim of finding jobs for all the members of the graduating class. Seven more Meister schools are slated to open next year.

Beginning this year, in order to help the Meister and other specific-purpose high schools, the Government is using the budget set aside for three major hope projects for low-income families. The Government will pay all the tuition for the entire student bodies and the dormitory fees at Meister schools.

In order to foster their professional abilities, the Government will implement a special college admission system for graduates. When they have worked for three years after graduation, they will be able to enter college through a special admission process. They will be studying at night, but will be given the same kind of academic credits as other regular college students.

Hanjin and other business groups are already operating in-house colleges offering regular credits for high school graduates who are working. From next year, the big business groups will allow employees of related small and medium-sized companies to enroll in their colleges in an attempt to nurture talented workers in cooperation with smaller businesses.

The nation’s business firms already recognize the excellent standards of high school graduates and tend to hire them more and more. Many business recruiters I met said that their high school graduates were demonstrating even more productivity and sense of achievement than their college-educated employees.

Quite recently, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company announced that it would focus intensively on the professional training of its high school graduate workers for four years so that after training, they would be treated the same as their college graduate peers. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Company has introduced a personnel system under which even production workers with high school diplomas can be promoted to executive positions.

The Government will also raise its mandatory quota of new recruits among high school graduates. It will identify new positions in the public sector suitable for students with special skills and expand employment based on recommendations. In public organizations, those high school graduates who have worked four years will be treated the same as the college-educated.

It has been shown that more than 80 percent of the workers participating in the youth intern program of small and medium-sized companies have been hired as regular employees. High school participants in the program will also be increased drastically. Compulsory military service system will be improved so that graduates of regular high schools will be allowed to delay conscription as well.

The Government will strive to bring about a society where skilled workers are treated well and where the competence of individuals is respected more than academic credentials.

My fellow citizens,

Establishing a community where people can expand their dreams freely through individual efforts and competence is the beginning of ecosystemic development. I hope that we will work together to carve out a society where there is no discrimination based on academic degrees and where high school graduates, too, can pursue their dreams to the fullest and receive decent treatment.

The weather has turned chilly, and I hope that you take good care of yourselves.

Thank you very much.