Public prioritizes agendas for social dialogue such as “Creating Safe Workplaces” and “Solving Youth Employment Challenges”
▸ Topics related to organizational culture at work, including workplace bullying, ranked high among agendas.
▸ People in their 20s–30s prioritize work-life balance, while those aged 40+ emphasize income security in retirement.
▸ Top priorities for revitalizing social dialogue include promoting social dialogue on conflict issues and institutionalizing the outcomes of social consensus.
1. Overview of the Survey
The Economic, Social and Labor Council (Chairperson: Kwon Ki-seob, hereafter “ESLC”) conducted a national perception survey from June 25 to July 3, 2025, targeting 2,500 adults aged 19 and older, in preparation for the full-scale resumption of social dialogue and to explore agendas in the context of complex societal crises.
The survey covered five key policy areas and presented 25 agenda items to respondents.
For each item, it assessed:
The necessity for social dialogue (on a 5-point scale).
The priority of agendas within each area (respondents chose the 2 or 3 most urgent and important agendas).
2. Results: Necessity and Priority of Social Dialogue
<1> Overall Necessity for Social Dialogue (Top Agendas)
Among all 25 agenda items, the ones perceived as most urgently requiring social dialogue were:
“Creating a healthy and safe workplace” (4.29)
“Measures to address youth unemployment” (4.27)
These were followed by:
“Securing income in retirement through pension reform” (4.18)
“Eliminating blind spots in employment, industrial accident, and health insurance coverage” (4.15)
“Reducing conflict from workplace bullying” (4.13)
“Expanding work-family balance policies like parental leave” (4.13)
“Improving labor-management communication in the workplace” (4.07)
“Enhancing working conditions for employees in small workplaces (under 5 employees)” (4.03)
“Protecting workers in diverse forms of employment” (4.01)
“Bridging the gap between large and small companies, as well as contractors and subcontractors” (4.01)
These results reflect high public concern over workplace safety, inequality, and employment issues.
By age group: People in their 20s and 30s prioritized work-life balance issues such as leave policies and rest time, while those in their 40s and older were more concerned with retirement income.
<2> Breakdown by the Five Key Policy Areas
[1] Population Crisis: Low Birthrate and Aging
Top Needs for Social Dialogue (6 items):
Youth employment (4.27)
Retirement income (4.18)
Work-family balance (4.13)
Reemployment/training for women with career breaks (3.97)
Continued employment for workers over 60 (3.90)
Expansion of foreign labor to address labor shortages (3.20)
Top Priorities:
Youth employment (30.5%)
Continued employment for 60+ workers (28.5%)
Retirement income (21.2%)
Implications:
Public views youth employment as the most urgent issue, given ongoing challenges (e.g., youth employment rate at 45.6% as of June 2025).
The importance placed on continued employment for older workers reflects rising interest due to retirement age discussions and aging demographics.
As these two agendas may conflict generationally, social dialogue is critical to find balanced solutions.
[2] Digital and Industrial Transition (AI)
Top Needs for Social Dialogue (7 items):
Flexible working hours and choice (3.99)
AI-era vocational training (3.95)
Employment safety nets for AI-driven industrial change (3.95)
Job performance and pay systems fit for digital transition (3.89)
Response to global economic shocks like Trump-era tariffs (3.89)
Labor management for the atypical workers such as platform/freelance work (3.82)
AI education in primary and secondary schools (3.78)
Top Priorities:
AI-related vocational training (29.0%)
Employment safety nets (23.5%)
Flexible working hours and choice (19.0%)
Implications:
While this area showed relatively lower urgency overall, strong support for flexible work and job training shows rising awareness of the need to adapt to AI-driven changes and labor market uncertainties.
[3] Reducing Discrimination and Inequality
Top Needs for Social Dialogue (4 items):
Eliminating social insurance blind spots (4.15)
Improving conditions in small businesses (4.03)
Closing the gap between large/small or main/subcontractors (4.01)
Protecting workers in diverse employment types (4.01)
Top Priorities:
Bridging large–small business & contractor–subcontractor gaps (39.2%)
Protecting non-standard workers (24.8%)
Implications:
High urgency across all items indicates widespread concern about labor market inequality.
The focus on small businesses and non-standard workers highlights structural labor issues that demand tripartite (government-labor-management) solutions.
[4] Work-Life Balance
Top Needs for Social Dialogue (4 items):
Leave and rest system improvement (4.00)
Flexible extended work hours (3.94)
Flexible work arrangements (remote work, flexible hours) (3.91)
Shorter and more flexible working hours (3.90)
Top Priorities:
Shorter and flexible work hours (42.7%)
Diverse work arrangements (23.0%)
Implications:
Work-time flexibility and reduction reflect growing public interest in initiatives like the 4.5-day workweek and improved quality of life.
[5] Workplace Culture
Top Needs for Social Dialogue (4 items):
Safe and healthy workplace (4.29)
Addressing conflict from workplace bullying (4.13)
Labor-management communication (4.07)
Harmonizing with MZ generation (3.83)
Top Priorities:
Safe workplace (28.5%)
Labor-management communication (28.4%)
Workplace bullying (26.3%)
Implications:
Workplace culture was rated highest among the five domains, especially due to growing awareness of safety and respect in the workplace.
The rising attention to bullying is likely influenced by the steady increase in annual bullying reports (12,000 cases in 2024), following the 2019 anti-bullying law.
Creating collaborative and respectful work environments is seen as urgent.
3. Tasks for Revitalizing Social Dialogue
<1> Public Awareness and Support for Social Dialogue
General support for social dialogue on key policy and conflict issues was high (average score 4.02).
Awareness of the ESLC was moderate at 48.5%, with clear differences by age and gender:
Ages 50+: 63.4% aware
Ages 20–40: 32.5%
Men: 56.0%
Women: 40.9%
→ Policies are needed to enhance awareness and engagement among youth and women.
<2> Key Tasks to Promote Social Dialogue
Top Needs (6 tasks):
Public disclosure of dialogue processes (4.06)
Promote dialogue on legislative and socio-economic conflict issues (4.02)
Institutionalize adoption of consensus outcomes by government/parliament (3.94)
Allow public to propose agenda items (3.89)
Broaden participation beyond labor–management (e.g., youth, women, civic groups) (3.75)
Strengthen independence and role of ESLC (3.68)
Top Priorities:
Promote dialogue on conflict issues (24.8%)
Institutionalize adoption of consensus outcomes (22.5%)
Broaden participation to youth, women, civil society (18.0%)
Implications:
Strong desire for transparent, inclusive, and impactful dialogue.
People want outcomes from dialogue to be reflected in laws and policies, not just discussed.
There is also a call for broader participation beyond traditional labor–management stakeholders.
4. Next Steps
The ESLC will share the survey results with government, labor, and business stakeholders to guide the selection and development of future social dialogue agendas.
Special focus will be placed on enhancing engagement and perceived efficacy among youth and women, including forming age-/group-specific committees early on.
Chairperson Kwon Gi-seob emphasized,“This meaningful survey shows that citizens expect social dialogue to play a key role in resolving conflicts and shaping legislation in today’s era of democratic governance. The ESLC will move quickly to normalize dialogue and mediate disputes between stakeholders, fulfilling its role as a platform for building social consensus.”
