Minister to deliver online lecture to more than 700 civil servants Thursday

'Workplace democracy ensuring dignity, freedom and equality is the goal of employment policy'

Minister to stress social dialogue to narrow labor market gaps, highlight youth employment support

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon [Yonhap]
Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon [Yonhap]

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon is set to emphasize the importance of human-centered growth and the dignity of labor in employment policy amid the rapid spread of AI and structural shifts in industry. Kim plans to deliver a message that closing labor market gaps requires social dialogue in which labor, management and government enter talks without predetermined conclusions — treating dialogue itself as the goal.

The National Human Resources Development Institute announced Wednesday that it will host an online celebrity lecture featuring Kim at its main auditorium in Jincheon on Thursday.

The lecture will be held under the theme "People's Sovereignty Government and Workplace Democracy," and is designed to share with the civil service the direction of employment and labor policy aimed at protecting the livelihoods of working people as AI adoption and industrial restructuring rapidly transform the way people work.

More than 700 trainees enrolled in the Grade 5 promotion management program are expected to attend. The lecture will also be streamed live on the institute's YouTube channel, Jaein Education TV, allowing any member of the public to watch.

Kim is expected to stress that realizing "workplace democracy" — where dignity, freedom and equality are guaranteed on the job — is the guiding aim of employment and labor policy.

Kim will also present social dialogue as the key to narrowing labor market gaps and achieving workplace democracy, saying that what is needed is dialogue undertaken without preset conclusions, with the conversation itself as the purpose.

Kim will also underscore the need for policies to support young people who have yet to enter the labor market. With youth employment remaining sluggish, Kim will argue that policy efforts to help young people gain a foothold in the workforce are critical.

As concrete policy examples, Kim plans to introduce the push to establish a K-Labor Welfare Council and the expansion of the K-New Deal Academy, explaining how these initiatives aim to reduce disparities within the labor market and support youth employment.

Im Jae-won, president of the National Human Resources Development Institute, said Grade 5 managers "are the backbone of the civil service — designing policy and communicating with the field." Im added that he hoped the lecture would give trainees "an opportunity to reflect on the kind of policy leadership that protects people's lives, grounded in the value of labor and the power of dialogue."


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