The Korea Land & Housing Corp. recently launched a “silver employee” project to boost senior employment and to fulfill its social role as public organization.

The ceremony, held Tuesday at LH headquarters in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, was attended by Vice Land Minister Park Kee-poong, LH president Lee Ji-song and some 500 senior employees, officials said.

The silver employment project is a representative legacy of the housing corporation that was first initiated back in 2010 under the lead of its president.

The total accumulated number of employees amounted to some 7,000 as of last year, according to officials.

In January, the state-run corporation received applications from senior citizens aged 60 or older who wished to work as caretakers in the LH headquarters and affiliated public apartments.

Some 11,000 hopefuls applied for 3,000 posts, recording an average competition rate of 3.6 to 1. The figure was the highest in the Seocho and Gangnam districts in southern Seoul ― up to 20.8 applicants per job.

From this month to the end of November, the selected employees are to maintain and organize public facilities in LH apartments, manage security and take care of socially weak households.

“The silver employment system is a labor system which is beneficial both for the local community and for the increasing number of senior citizens,” said Lee.

“We hope to set a positive precedent so that more jobs may be available for elderly people in the future.”

It is not just the salary and the position, but the resulting confidence and pride that really define the employment project, he added.

“I believe that this is one of the key roles of public corporations in our society,” Lee said.

During the ceremony, he also urged LH to cut down on its costs and debt and demanded that the government provide fundamental backup plans such as a debt-for-equity swap.

The LH president offered his resignation last month, in a gesture to let the organization get off a new start under the Park Geun-hye administration.

“With the launch of the new government, the nation’s housing and land paradigm is changing fast,” he said.

“In order to implement the administration’s policies, it is vital that LH plays its given role.”

The key point of all housing and real estate policies is to make the residents happy and LH’s business portfolio, including the silver employment, will contribute to the goal, he said.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)