Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok convened the ‘Expert Roundtable on Social Mobility’ for promoting a dynamic economy on February 13 to discuss the current status of social mobility in Korea and policy implications with experts.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi highlighted that the recent decline in social mobility is deemed one of the significant factors hindering individuals’ investments for their future and incentives to work, thus contributing to the sustained weakening of dynamism and potential growth rates in the Korean economy. He also underscored that it is urgent to improve social mobility for the realization of a dynamic economy where the middle class becomes stronger and the growth ladder for small and medium-sized enterprises is enhanced.
The participants shared the view that Korea’s intergenerational income mobility is rated below the OECD average (2018), and that a diminishing belief in social mobility is highly likely to harm economic vitality. In
addition, they suggested that in order to bolster social mobility in terms of education and employment, focus should be put on mitigating the imbalance between education and employment, address educational disparities, and improve the labor market environment while striving to create quality jobs.
In response, Deputy Prime Minister Choi stressed the need to strengthen the middle class in Korean society by expanding economic participation among women and seniors, as well as improving youth employment. As an initial step, the government will promptly develop and announce strategies to boost women’s economic engagement including a work-family balance.
Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister Choi pledged that through in-depth discussions, the government will gather the views of leading experts and devise policy measures that have a practical impact on Korean people and deliver tangible outcomes such as by enhancing support for lifelong education and vocational training to expand job opportunities for the vulnerable.