On April 18, the National Assembly Research Service (Chief Kwan Hu, Lee) held the 2025 National Vision Conference for Legislative Policy at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in the Main Conference Room and Seminar Rooms 1-9. This conference, held for the third time since its pilot project in 2023, is a large-scale legislative and policy platform where the NARS and leading academic associates joined to explore the vision and direction of Korea's legislative policy.

Under this year's main theme—"How Should We Solve Inequality in Korean Society?"—the event drew 96 experts from diverse academic fields such as law, politics, economics, public administration, sociology, etc. These specialists, representing institutions like the Korean Economic Association and the Korean Association for Public Administration, gathered to present and debate critical legislative and policy solutions.

The conference was attended by high-profile political figures, including National Assembly Speaker Woo, Won Shik and Vice Speakers Lee, Hak Young and Joo, Ho Young; Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee Jung Chung Rae, Chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee Jin Seongjun, and Chairman of the People Power Party's Policy Committee Kim Sang-hoon who offered their congratulations on the event's opening.

In his opening address, Kwan Hu Lee, Chief of the NARS, highlighted the multifaceted nature of modern inequality, exacerbated by climate change, industrial shifts, and the digital divide. He warned that this growing disparity is threatening the very solidarity of the community and called for a comprehensive approach to review the issue and prepare alternatives.

Also, Speaker Woo, Won Shik, in his welcoming remarks, stressed the importance of resolving inequality, describing inequality as a structural crisis. He stressed that gaps in income, assets, education, health, and opportunities across regions and generations are structural and undermining the community’s sustainability.

The morning's keynote session featured presentations from Professor Emeritus Jeon Kwang-seok of Yonsei University Law School and Professor Emeritus Shin Kwang-Yeong of Chung-Ang University's Department of Sociology. Professor Jeon pointed out that while various types of labor have emerged in the rapidly changing socioeconomic structure, institutional responses have been insufficient. He emphasized that the existing Labor Law and Social Security Act should both be amended to expand the scope of protection to embrace new forms of labor, as issues arise where platform workers, for example, are excluded from the social security system as they are not covered by the existing legal framework.

Professor Shin argued that labor market flexibility and demographic shifts have worsened poverty and inequality, with policy responses proving slow and ineffective. He proposed an integrated strategy combining progressive taxation, enhanced housing welfare, the introduction of a basic income, and comprehensive reforms across the tax, welfare, and labor market systems.

Following the presentations, NARS Chief Kwan Hu, Lee moderated the discussion joined by ▲Lee Keun, President of the Korean Economic Association, ▲Jeon Hak-seon, President of the Korean Public Law Association, ▲Lim Woon-taek, President of the Korean Sociological Association, ▲Kim Beom-soo, President of the Korean Political Science Association, and ▲Jung Gwang Ho, President of the Korean Association for Public Administration.

The afternoon was dedicated to a series of breakout sessions organized with 18 different academic associates. These concurrent sessions explored a wide range of topics, including a thematic session covering "The Causes of Inequality in Korean Society and Legislative Countermeasures," an open session on "Major Legislative Tasks by Sector in 2025," and three "Special TF Sessions" currently running at the National Assembly. In these individual sessions, other topics such as resolving urban-rural disparities, educational inequality, climate change and resilience, and inheritance of wealth and future directions of tax policies were also discussed.

A key development for this year's conference was its expanded scope. Moving beyond its previous focus on legal studies, the event embraced a more interdisciplinary approach by involving experts from politics, economy, social sciences, and public administration. This shift aims to ensure that a wider range of academic insights informs the legislative process, strengthening the National Assembly's ability to enact policies that serve the public good and build a cooperative foundation between the National Assembly and academia to lead such legislation process.

The NARS plans to continue its collaboration with the academic community to provide impactful research and policy proposals that will help shape a national strategy for the future and realize a more people-centric approach to legislation.

The materials from this conference can be found on the National Assembly Research Service’s website under the “Research - Seminars & Conferences” tab.