A Better Life for All

The Moon Jae-in government has since its inauguration been striving to make a difference in the people¡¯s lives by implementing policies aimed at making the nation a better place to live in, a place where every individual lives a better life.

The government has focused its efforts on the establishment of a ¡°fair economy and inclusive growth¡± as the core economic policies. The policies are designed to embrace individuals from all walks of life to ensure that nobody is left behind and everyone can have a fair share of income and social benefits.

Part of the efforts to achieve the goal of fairness and inclusiveness in the economy is the 2019 record-high budget proposed in late August, a large portion of which will be invested in creating jobs. Another case in point is a new labor law introduced in July that caps the workweek for employees at 52 hours from the maximum of 68 hours. With shortened working hours, people can relish what¡¯s called weola-bael, a Korean catchphrase that means a ¡°balance between work and life.¡±

World Faces New Challenges

Despite the efforts, however, the nation faces new challenges that occur in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These challenges are posing an unprecedented threat to the well-being of the people. Jobs are being lost as a result of digitalization, the wealth gap is fast widening, and other social and environment issues, such as climate change and mass immigration, are worsening, to name just a few.

These challenges are universal, as well. Governments from all around the world now acknowledge that they must take new approaches to tackle them. Also, the international community feels a growing demand for increased global cooperation.

The Need for Better Strategies

In this sense, it¡¯s meaningful for Korea to host the ¡°6th OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy,¡± scheduled to kick off on Nov. 27 in Incheon. This will be a good opportunity for Korea and world economies to come up with the best possible future policies and strategies to tackle new threats collectively and to make life better worth living. Korea will become the host nation of the OECD World Forum for the second time, following the 3rd OECD World Forum in Busan in 2009 which was focused on ¡°Charting Progress, Building Visions, and Improving Life.¡±

Running until Nov. 29 under the slogan of ¡°The Future of Well-being,¡± the upcoming Incheon Forum will bring together representatives from OECD member states, Nobel-Prize winners and experts from statistics, research, business and civil society.

The three-day forum will run a series of roundtable panel discussions and seminars featuring world leaders, including Columbia University Professor Joseph Eugene Stiglitz who was a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001, German Professor Robert Rudolf at the Division of International Studies of Korea University, and British author Julia Nathalie Hobsbawm who wrote ¡°Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload.¡±

The three-day forum will run a series of roundtable panel discussions and seminars featuring world leaders, including Columbia University Professor Joseph Eugene Stiglitz who was a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001, German Professor Robert Rudolf at the Division of International Studies of Korea University, and British author Julia Nathalie Hobsbawm who wrote ¡°Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload.¡±

The participants will share their opinions and ideas under the three major themes: opportunities and challenges that could emerge in the era of digitalization; new modes of governance that are needed to ensure inclusive growth and sustainable well-being for all in the coming years; and, lastly, the roles that corporate entities can play in helping foster more sustainable and people-centered strategies for better lives. lastly, the roles that corporate entities can play in helping foster more sustainable and people-centered strategies for better lives.

Collective Action

According to the OECD Better Life Index—a tool that measures countries according to 11 multifaceted topics including income, jobs, life satisfaction and work-life balance—, Koreans rank below average in terms of income, wealth, subjective well-being and work-life balance. When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Koreans gave it a 5.9 grade on average, lower than the OECD average of 6.5. Since 2004, the OECD World Forums have contributed to an ongoing paradigm shift that emphasizes well-being and inclusive growth as the ultimate focus for policies and collective action. Now, world leaders will soon come together in Incheon to talk about trends that will re-shape life in the decades to come. Korea should make the most of the upcoming meetings to combine the minds and plans of other countries for collective action to better address challenges in this swiftly transforming world.