보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Sharing Policies and Strengthening International Cooperation

for Future Social Crisis Response

- 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Ki-il

to attend the OECD Social Policy Ministerial Meeting (Feb.14, 2025) -

- Visits to key institutions in France on population, family, and pension policies

to explore policy directions -

1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Ki-il attends the 2025 OECD Social Policy Ministerial Meeting, scheduled to take place on Friday, February 14, in Paris, France. At the meeting, he will engage in discussions with representatives from OECD member countries and partners under the theme, "New Frontiers for Social Policy: Investing in the Future."

This high-level meeting, convened for the first time in seven years, is hosted by Spain and Portugal, the co-chairs of the 2025 OECD Ministerial Meeting on Social Policy. The event brings together senior officials from OECD member countries and partners, as well as major international organizations in the fields of employment, social affairs, and welfare, for in-person discussions.

During the Meeting, First Vice Minister Lee shares Korea’s extensive policy efforts to address low birth rates, highlighting recent progress achieved despite the country's unprecedented pace of declining birth rates and population aging, while underscoring the importance of sustainable resource mobilization in response to aging populations, as well as the need for people-centered social policies that provide support for vulnerable populations.

Prior to the 2025 OECD Social Policy Ministerial Meeting, First Vice Minister Lee will also hold bilateral discussions on February 12-13 with key institutions, including the National Old-Age Pension Insurance Fund, the High Council for Family, Childhood, and the Elderly, the National Institute for Demographic Studies, and the Pension Advisory Committee to explore policy measures to address rapid demographic changes and ensure the sustainability of pension systems, key issues of mutual interest for Korea and France. He will also seek to strengthen bilateral cooperation for a joint response to these challenges.

First Vice Minister Lee emphasized, "Amid the crisis of low birth rates and rapid aging, which pose a fundamental threat to national sustainability, Korea now requires an unprecedented mobilization of national capabilities and close international cooperation." He added, "I hope this visit serves as an opportunity to turn the current crisis into a pathway toward a sustainable future.“///