44th Future Labor Reform Forum: Industrial Policy Today and the Outlook for Labor Relations

A forum was held on the theme of “The Current State of Industrial Policy and the Outlook for Labor-Management Relations.” The forum examined changes in global value chains (GVCs) and growth trends in key industries, and discussed how shifts in industrial structure affect the competitiveness of domestic firms and labor-management relations. In particular, it explored the impact on our industries of the U.S.-China technological hegemony competition, China’s expanding industrial competitiveness, and market changes in major industries such as electric vehicles, batteries, and semiconductors.

It also broadly addressed major issues including the reorganization of global supply chains, China’s promotion of advanced industries, export and production trends in key industries, and labor market changes resulting from the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. In addition, the forum discussed the importance of technological innovation and supply chain diversification to secure industrial competitiveness, as well as labor-management relations in responding to changes in industrial structure. Through these discussions, participants explored policy tasks for enhancing the competitiveness of our firms and promoting sustainable industrial development amid a rapidly changing global industrial environment.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Date and Time: Friday, October 16, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Venue: Pureun Hall

Host: Future Labor Reform Forum

Moderator: Seunggil Lee, Head of the Future Labor Reform Forum and President of the Korea ILO Association

Presenter: Cheol Cho, Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade

Discussants: Juhwan Lee, Deputy Director, Korea Labor and Society Institute

Changbae Kim, Secretary-General, Open Society Forum

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Original title: <제44회 미래노동개혁포럼:산업정책의 현황과 노사관계의 전망>

Author: Future Labor Reform Forum

Date: 2026-10-16

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=futurelabor&pn=1&idx=29635