Labor and business groups have agreed to jointly tackle the complex national crises stemming from the artificial intelligence-driven industrial paradigm shift and low birthrates combined with an aging population.
The "Social Dialogue," a labor-management-government consultative body led by the National Assembly, held a results briefing at the National Assembly's Sarangjae hall on the morning of the 30th and issued a joint declaration outlining these commitments.
The declaration is the product of more than a year of intensive discussions led by the National Assembly Speaker's office with three business organizations and two labor organizations. The declaration includes pledges to mutually respect conclusions reached by consultative bodies on each agenda item to overcome the current crises, and to promptly establish an institutional foundation so that the National Assembly-level social dialogue body can operate on a stable basis.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik stressed, "To build sustainable competitiveness in the AI era, social protection mechanisms are essential for workers outside the existing legal framework, including special-status employees, platform workers and freelancers." He added, "Based on the standards we have jointly established, follow-up discussions must bear fruit in actual policy and legislation."
SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, who represented the business community as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "AI has already penetrated deep into our daily lives." He added, "We must continuously develop solutions acceptable to market stakeholders for workers left in blind spots of rights protection." He further noted, "The key is to pool our wisdom so that we can grow the 'economic pie' shared among labor, management and the state to create more opportunities."
The labor community also called for strengthening safety nets in step with the changes. Kim Dong-myeong, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, said, "We have reached a consensus that labor and management must jointly respond to labor market shifts brought about by industrial restructuring, and that a redesign of the social safety net to match these changes is necessary." He pledged to carry forward the spirit of the agreement in future institutional reform processes.
Yang Kyung-soo, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, reflected, "The interests of each organization were so sharply divided that there were many ups and downs during the discussions." He emphasized, "I hope that relevant legislation will be swiftly processed and that a legal basis will be established so that social dialogue can develop into a forum for deeper deliberation."