Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks at a Cabinet meeting, July 12. Yonhap

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday called for a fundamental reform of the labor market, as the government seeks to promote job creation led by the private sector.

"For sustainable recovery of employment, a fundamental improvement in the job market is needed," Han told a Cabinet meeting, urging ministers to "make more efforts to create an environment in which jobs are created by the private sector."

Citing the labor ministry's data, Han said indicators of the job market improved in June. He said, however, job gains are likely to be short-lived, as government-led job creation schemes have been completed.

With the Bank of Korea expected to gradually raise its key rates to fight inflation, the policy tightening is also expected to have a negative impact on the job market, Han said.

Meanwhile, the nation's new coronavirus cases surged to a two-month high of over 37,000 on Tuesday, fueling concerns over another virus wave.

Han said he will preside over a virus response meeting Wednesday and announce measures to cope with the looming resurgence of COVID-19. (Yonhap)