A ministerial meeting on labor and employment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation on May 12 is held at Jeju Convention Center in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. (Jeju Special Self-Governing Province)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

The second senior officials meeting of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) from May 11-13 is being held at Jeju Convention Center in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, to discuss solutions to the rapidly changing labor environment due to artificial intelligence (AI) and new forms of employment.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said senior representatives from 21 APEC member countries are attending like Chilean Minister of Labor and Social Security Jorge Boca Torno and Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Steven Sim Chee Kiong.

These are the first such talks held since the 2014 edition in Vietnam and Korea's first hosting of the event since 1997.

Under the theme "Sustainable Labour Markets and Jobs for the Future," the meeting is discussing policy and cooperation to make sure that structural changes in the labor market generate higher quality jobs and prevent gaps between them.

Participants will release a joint statement on the direction of labor policy customized for an active labor market to respond to new technologies such as AI, new forms of work, and demographic shifts such as low birth rates and aging population.

Responses to AI and structural shifts in population will be reflected in key agenda items at the upcoming APEC Summit in late October.

aisylu@korea.kr