The Economic, Social and Labor Council, a presidential social dialogue body, has resumed operations. It was the first time in 1 year and 3 months that the council's plenary committee convened.
On the 19th in the morning, at the Blue House Chungmu Room, the Economic, Social and Labor Council held its first plenary committee meeting since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration. President Lee Jae-myung also attended. It was the first time in eight years that a sitting president attended the council's plenary committee meeting, after Moon Jae-in.
The meeting was held with 16 of the 17 commissioners in attendance. Chairperson Kim Ji-hyung and Standing Commissioner Lee Jung-han were joined by four labor representatives including Kim Dong-myung, chairperson of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, five business representatives including Sohn Kyung-shik, chairperson of the Korea Employers Federation, four public-interest commissioners including Seoul National University professor Lee Cheol-hee, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol, and Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) Kim Young-hoon. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) did not attend.
Labor, management, and government representatives agreed at the meeting to operate seven committees within the Economic, Social and Labor Council. As a first step, they will establish a special committee titled "Special committee on public discourse for demographic change and jobs" to discuss intergenerational co-prosperity in response to the demographic crisis, job stability across the life cycle, and easing the polarization of jobs. However, the "extension of the retirement age to 65," which is under legislative discussion in the National Assembly, is expected to be excluded from the direct agenda.
Committees will also be set up by agenda, industry, and group. By agenda, the council will establish: ▲ labor-management co-prosperity committee on AI transition response ▲ labor-management relations system development committee ▲ youth jobs hope committee ▲ industrial safety and health committee for small business sites ▲ labor-management relations committee for public officials and teachers.
In particular, the labor-management co-prosperity committee on AI transition response will broadly discuss labor-management co-prosperity measures following AI adoption, addressing support measures for the introduction and use of AI at industrial worksites and the development of labor-management cooperation models to respond to job changes brought by AI. The labor-management relations system development committee will discuss system improvements related to working hours and wage systems.
By industry, a regional employment and economy support committee will be formed to respond to the downturn in the petrochemical industry. Effective measures will be discussed to resolve job issues in the Yeosu area.