Seoul, July 27 (IANS): The South Korean government on Monday said it plans to create 200,000 new jobs by 2017.

According to sources, the government along with private firms, will work to create 200,000 new jobs by 2017 as a short-term measure to reduce unemployment among the youth, Yonhap News Agency reported.

This will include 75,000 full time jobs in the public and private sectors while the other 125,000 will mostly consist of new internships in private companies.

"The joint measures announced by the government today (Sunday) seek to encourage the public sector to spearhead job creation while providing active financial and tax support for job creation in the private sector," Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said.

"We promise that the government and the business sector will together implement the measures to create 200,000 new job opportunities for the youth by 2017."

"We hope today's promise will help remove problems now facing our young people while also providing hope to our future generations," the minister said.

Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., promised to stick to its employment plan to hire 9,500 workers by the end of the year, which would be slightly more than the largest ever hiring of 9,100 people last year.

LG Group joined the move by renewing its commitment to hiring 12,000 new workers this year -- almost the same level as that of last year -- despite the toughening global business environment.

Other conglomerates, such as SK Group and Hanwha Group, also expressed their strong support for the government's job creation scheme.