This report is part of a series of country projects within the OECD programme of work on Building Effective National Skills Strategies.
The OECD is grateful to the Korean National Project Team for its invaluable guidance and input throughout the project, and its help in convening and organising stakeholder workshops. We are particularly grateful to the National Project Leader, Youngsup Choi from the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), and the national project team members, Hanna Moon from KRIVET, Hyung Man Kim from KRIVET, Min-Hwan Jeon from the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Dasom Choi from the Ministry of Employment and Labour (MoEL) for their strong leadership and co-ordination of the project. The national project support included Minhee Im and Youngeun Jeon from KRIVET. The OECD team wishes to thank Director-General Yeon-hee Koo of the MoE and former Director Jiwan Yoo of the MoE (currently Director-General, Korea National University of Education) for their commitment to this project. We also thank Hyunjin Kim, former Counsellor for Education, Ji Yun Kim, current Counsellor for Education, and Hyun Soo Yang, Counsellor for Employment and Labour at the Permanent Representation of the Korean Government to the OECD, for their insightful advice and continuous support during the project. We also appreciate the useful and constructive comments from Deputy Directors Hye Young Bae from the MoEL and Eunseo Lee from the MoE.
Our warm thanks go to the many representatives of ministries, government agencies, education and training institutions, businesses and business associations, unions and community associations, think tanks and other organisations, and adult learners who generously shared their insights during focus groups and bilateral interviews with the OECD team in Seoul, and for their written input and good practices. During the missions, the OECD team met around 40 stakeholders representing different sectors and institutions, including practitioners and experts from all levels of education, policy makers, employers, trade unions, local authorities, education and labour market researchers. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank the staff of KRIVET for their excellent organisation of the focus group and bilateral meetings and for their hospitality in hosting these events. We also thank the experts who supported the National Project Team and the moderators and translators in the meetings.
We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for contributing both financial support and expertise throughout the project.
While the report draws upon data and analysis from the OECD, Korean authorities and other published sources, any errors or misinterpretations remain the responsibility of the OECD team.
Samuel Kim was the OECD Project Leader responsible for managing this OECD National Skills Strategy project in Korea. The main authors of this report were: Samuel Kim, Najung Kim and Soumyajit Kar (OECD Centre for Skills).
Stefano Piano and Helena Van Langenhove (OECD Centre for Skills) provided input in the early stages of the project. Cuauhtemoc Rebolledo-Gomez, Michele Cimino and Serli Abrahamoglu (OECD Centre for Skills) provided statistical support, and Dami Seo, Sunhwa Kim, and Minju Kim conducted background research.
As Head of the OECD National Skills Strategy Projects, Andrew Bell provided analytical guidance, comments on chapters and supervision. Stefano Scarpetta (OECD Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs) and Mark Pearson (OECD Deputy Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs) provided strategic oversight for the project, as well as comments.
Véronique Quénehen and Jennifer Cannon (OECD Centre for Skills) provided invaluable support for mission organisation, report layout and design and publication planning, while Liz Zachary provided proofreading and editorial support.