By Lee Hana

President Moon Jae-in met with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria at Cheong Wa Dae on Oct. 19.

In addition to discussing some of the major global economic issues, the two leaders shared their thoughts on Korea's labor market, aging society and market deregulation.

During the meeting, the secretary-general gave the president a copy of "Digitalization: An Enabling Force for the Next Production Revolution in Korea," the OECD's latest report on Korea's web economy.

The president expressed his appreciation for the report, and said that it would serve as a useful reference for Korea as it maintains its relative dominance as an online power and continues to develop its engines of economic growth.

"The main areas that the Korean government prioritizes, in terms of its political agenda, align with the initiatives that the OECD outlined on Korea's 50th anniversary: 'Better Policies for Better Lives.' There's a lot of potential for cooperation between Korea and the OECD in this regard," said Gurria.

"The Korean government has zoned in on tolerance and the resolution of polarizing issues as priority tasks, and we're making our best efforts to address these goals," said President Moon.

"The Korean economy of the past was biased, creating a polarized society where the rewards of economic growth were distributed unevenly. Korea hopes to continue to cooperate intimately with the OECD to solve this problem," he said.

Gurria pointed out some economic hurdles, such as Korea's labor market dualism. He said that the country should make an effort to create new job opportunities in the face of the fourth industrial revolution. Training to prepare workers for these new sectors is also crucial, he said.

"In Korea, young people are experiencing an unemployment crisis due to mismatches in job accessibility, while small- and medium-sized firms are faced with labor shortages. We're working hard to address these issues," said President Moon.

hlee10@korea.kr