The Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI, President Kim Dae-Hee) and the Office of National Assemblyman Park Jeong (Democratic Party) held a discussion session at the 2nd Seminar Hall of the National Assembly Members Office Building on August 18 (Friday) on the topic ‘Occupational Changes in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Adoption Direction of Basic Income'.

This debate forum was organized to form a consensus on the direction of labor policies and the need for a basic income system in response to the occupational changes that the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is likely to bring about. The intention of the forum’s organizers was to gather opinions from every level of Korean society. The forum discussion centered around the following three main topics: ① The 4th Industrial Revolution and occupational changes; ② The 4th Industrial Revolution and the task of enacting labor laws; and ③ The need for a basic income system and its method of adoption in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A final hour of discussion was included in the agenda.

The first speaker, researcher Jeong Hyuk of KISDI, gave a presentation titled ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Changes in Employment', in which he talked about how the recent sequence of technological evolutions referred to as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is going to impact jobs. He also offered his suggestions on the direction that government policies should take. He backed up his points with discussions on the relationship between technological change and labor, and the main method of analysis and the results of research related to this issue, and introduced the results of employment forecasts in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He also emphasized the need for social dialogue in order to prepare for the quantitative and qualitative changes in employment that are likely to occur as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In the second topic presentation titled "The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Task of Labor Laws" by Korea University professor Park Ji-soon, the key points of Germany's labor reform agenda - as described in its ‘White Book for Labor 4.0’ (Weissbuch) - was introduced. Professor Park then examined its implications for the labor policies of Korea, explained the issue from a legislative viewpoint, and discussed the contentious points of Korea's labor laws and regulations set up to meet the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and suggested ways of improving them.

Director Kang Nam-hoon of Korea Network appeared as the third speaker to give a presentation titled "The 4th Industrial Revolution, the Need for a Basic Income and Its Method of Adoption". He selected this topic to discuss how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will result in the loss of jobs, declining job security, a widening income gap, and the collapse of the social security system. He emphasized the necessity of adopting a basic income system to remedy the serious social problems that will be caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and concluded by proposing a Korean basic income model that would suit the situation in Korea.

Afterwards, the final debate session was hosted by Director Kim Jeong-eon of KISDI. The participants in the debate included industry experts such as Director Gong Gwang-gyu of the Korean Financial Industry Union, Director Kim Ki-sun of the Korea Labor Institute, Researcher Park Ga-yeol of the Korea Employment Information Service, Researcher Seong Seung-je of the Korea Legislation Research Institute, and Manager Choi Sang-un of the Ministry of Science and ICT. They engaged in an in-depth discussion of how labor policies must be developed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and searched for the best method of adopting a national basic income system.

Inquiries: Research Lee Si-jik, ICT Strategy Research Team
(043-531-4357)