Daehung Softmill Says Youth Employment Leap Incentive Helps Hiring and Benefits

Daehung Softmill, a bakery machinery manufacturer in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, says the Youth Employment Leap Incentive has helped ease its shortage of young workers by reducing labor costs and freeing up money for employee benefits. Chief Executive Kim Dae-in plans to hire about six more people in the second half of the year and continue expanding recruitment with support from the program.

With 40 years in business, Daehung Softmill is described in the source as South Korea’s only specialist bakery machinery company. Yet its remote location and the aging image associated with manufacturing had made recruiting young employees difficult. The company says the incentive has helped address those difficulties and provided momentum for growth.

Labor cost savings go toward employee benefits

Kim Dae-in said the Youth Employment Leap Incentive changed a key factor in the company’s operations: lower labor costs allowed it to reinvest available funds in benefits for young employees, creating a virtuous cycle.

The company provides meat-focused meals in its cafeteria, operates a gym and offers transportation and fuel assistance, pay raises and year-end performance bonuses. It says these benefits have improved satisfaction among younger workers and encouraged them to stay.

Finance team employee Park Song-nam said a monthly subsidy of 200,000 won makes a practical difference in reducing living expenses. With a limited salary, that amount offers considerable flexibility in spending, Park Song-nam said, expressing strong satisfaction with the company’s provision of such benefits.

Average employee tenure at Daehung Softmill is at least 10 years. The company describes its employment environment as stable enough that a shop-floor employee with five years of service is still considered among the younger members of the workforce.

Training young recruits to become core technicians

Daehung Softmill says its focus extends beyond recruitment to developing young employees into core technicians. It supports job training that allows experienced colleagues to pass on their skills and takes individual aptitudes into account when assigning roles, giving employees opportunities to grow into specialists.

“Young people acquiring skills and growing into established technicians is the greatest foundation for sales and company growth,” Kim Dae-in said.

Shop-floor employee Park Seong-hyeon expressed satisfaction with the company’s emphasis on communication and its stable working environment, having seen peers struggle to find employment after completing workplace training.

The company says the arrival of young workers has brought energy and new ideas to the production floor, helping rejuvenate the business.

Program changes planned for 2027

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to revise the Youth Employment Leap Incentive in 2027 to reflect young people’s expectations and employers’ needs. The changes would increase monthly support for young people outside the capital region to 600,000 won and expand eligibility to mid-sized companies in the capital region and large companies outside it.

Kim Dae-in compared the Youth Employment Leap Incentive to “dough used to make bread,” adding that a foundation allowing young people sufficient opportunities to learn, gain experience and grow determines a company’s future.

Source: original video (YouTube)