South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan on Thursday called for an early implementation of government-supported labor reform measures that he has said will help create new jobs especially for the country's youth.

The minister, however, opposed providing direct cash benefits to young, unemployed people, a move currently considered by a few local governments, including the Seoul city government, and called it a populist idea.

"To provide quality jobs to the young, we need an early implementation of the Sept. 15 tripartite agreement of the labor, management and government on labor reform instead of leaning on populism," Choi said in a weekly meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul.

The remarks came about a week after Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced plans to provide an average 500,000 won ($428) a month for up to six months each to about 3,000 unemployed young adults in the capital city.

Choi said the government will utilize all available means to block the move, noting regional and district governments are required to consult with the central government before introducing a new welfare program.

The minister insisted a real solution to the problem of youth unemployment is creating more jobs.

Based on the September agreement of the tripartite committee, the government has submitted five bills on revisions to labor-related laws, which seek to increase labor market flexibility while reducing the average working hours of laborers under what could be seen as a job-sharing scheme.

"I call on the rival parties to quickly review the proposed bills and pass them before the end of this year," Choi, who doubles as a vice prime minister, said at the meeting, according to his ministry.

The proposed labor reform currently faces strong public opposition while many labor organizations claim it will only allow businesses to lay off their workers at their own whim.

A protest rally in Seoul over the weekend attracted an estimated 130,000 people, making it the largest of its kind since 2008, when massive demonstrations were staged in protest against the then Lee Myung-bak administration's agreement to resume U.S. beef imports.

The minister also pointed out a need to speed up economic restructuring.

"The government will do its utmost to make sure that market-led corporate restructuring will be initiated to help prepare for growing uncertainties and normalize the market," he said. (Yonhap)