Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon has apologized for the government's failure to boost the labor market. 

Kim delivered the apology at a parliamentary inquiry of the government on Tuesday, saying that employment statistics in September could be worse than in August. 

The minister said that the number of employees could even possibly post a minus growth in the government's upcoming report of employment trends for September, which will be released next week. 

The government is unlikely to meet its goal of increasing the number of the employed by 320-thousand this year. The number of employees grew by 140-thousand in the first half of this year, falling short of the government's target. 

The finance minister said that in addition to negative economic factors, the bearish employment is partly attributed to a hike in the minimum wage and shortened working hours, which have turned out to be discouraging the labor market, despite the government's initial intentions.