Future Labor Market Research Group's First Workshop: "Labor Market Polarization Cannot Continue Like This"

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik and members of the Future Labor Market Research Committee are taking a commemorative photo at the kickoff meeting held on the morning of the 18th at the Royal Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Future Labor Market Research Group, established to devise labor market reform measures, has decided to hold full meetings once a week to discuss wage system and working hours reform plans.

On the 31st, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the Future Labor Market Research Group, an expert discussion body for labor market reform, held its first workshop at the LW Convention in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 29th.

The research group will first accurately diagnose the current state of our labor market and start by identifying necessary reform tasks based on this diagnosis.

Subsequently, they plan to continue discussions to prepare specific institutional improvement plans related to working hours and wage systems, which are fundamental labor conditions in the labor market and the most urgent issues demanded for improvement in the field.

The members agreed that, amid demands for fair distribution mainly from the MZ generation, there is a need for changes in the wage system toward establishing a rational compensation system based on job and market value.

Regarding working hours, they concurred that while steadily reducing actual working hours, institutional improvements are necessary to enable our economy to respond flexibly to changes in industrial structure and environment.

The research group has established the principle of holding full meetings once a week to prepare policy alternatives with high public resonance. If necessary, they also plan to conduct field visits and surveys at the research group level, and regularly carry out briefings and press releases.

At the workshop, the members elected Professor Kwon Soon-won of Sookmyung Women’s University as the chairperson of the research group.

Professor Kwon said, "Considering issues such as labor market polarization, the capabilities and sustainability of our industry, there is a sense of crisis that things cannot continue as they are," adding, "We will seek rational alternatives to serve as a starting point to resolve the irrational dual structure of the labor market."

Deputy Minister Kwon Ki-seop of the Ministry of Employment and Labor emphasized, "The dual structure problem of the labor market still persists, and with the population decreasing for the first time last year, we need to quickly change the existing framework to respond to changes in the labor market," adding, "We will provide maximum support to ensure the stable operation of the research group."

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