President Moon Jae-in on July 7 chairs a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Young Deok and Lee Jihae

President Moon Jae-in on July 7 said, "We’ll prepare a roadmap to eliminate employment insurance blind spots by the end of the year."

In a Cabinet meeting, he said, "The government will do all it can to support employment retention and the survival of businesses as stipulated in the tentative agreement (between labor and management)."

The government aims to expand the scope of employment insurance coverage so that all employees can receive benefits.

The official announcement of the tentative agreement reached by labor, management and the government was canceled due to the last-minute absence of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) at the signing ceremony. The accord stipulates the government's efforts to maintain jobs and businesses and expansion of the social safety net.

President Moon called it "very regrettable" that the KCTU did not attend the ceremony at the last minute after reaching a tentative agreement, saying, "If the agreement had been signed, it could have become an important first step toward a grand social compromise."

"A culture of mutual benefit and cooperation is all the more urgent – particularly in times of  crisis," he said. "Accomplishing a grand compromise by mutual concessions is the way to rescue the country from a crisis and save everyone."

kyd1991@korea.kr