[THE INVESTOR] President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday visited a local air passenger service company to encourage and promote the flextime system, a crucial part of the government’s labor reform program aimed at improving work-family balance.

She visited Incheon International Airport to meet with officials of Air Korea, an affiliate of conglomerate Hanjin Group in charge of boarding procedures and luggage management of 24 carriers, including Hanjin’s Korean Air. The company has been selected as a model example of operating a time-selective working hour system, allowing its employees to flexibly control their work schedule.

Since adopting the flextime system in 2014, Cheong Wa Dae said the company has been able to hire more female workers, which consequently boosted productivity and curbed the turnover rate.

The number of local companies implementing the system stood at 4,041 as of May this year, soaring from 319 back in 2013, Labor Ministry data showed.

Also, in a recent survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 300 firms, 96.7 percent of respondents said that the flextime system was helpful in improving work-family balance.

The president’s visit to the air service company was the second of her on-site campaign to promote the government’s employment support program. Last Thursday, she visited a local elementary school to observe and participate in an after-school child care program.

The field tours also came in line with her remarks at Monday’s meeting with senior secretaries.

“We have to solve the problems concerning people’s daily lives, by visiting the actual scenes more often and promoting the (government’s) systems,” Park said.

“President Park will continue her on-the-spot visits so as to establish new growth momentums and to create jobs for the people, which will then contribute to economic revitalization,” said a Blue House official.

By Bae Hyun-jung(tellme@heraldcorpcom)