On June 17, the fifth lecture of the "2021 Series of Lectures on Global Labor Market Flexibilization and Digital Economy Employment Regulation", organized by the CULR and co-organized by the Labor Relations Branch of Chinese Association of Human Resource Development, was held online. Kiu Sik Bae, Guest Professor of the CULR and Permanent Director and Secretary General of the Economic, Social, and Labor Council of South Korea, was the keynote speaker and gave a presentation on "Climate Change, New Technology, and Labor in the Post-Pandemic Era". Liu Xiangbing, Secretary of the Party Committee of the CULR, and Fu Deyin, President of the CULR, attended the lecture, with over 260 experts, scholars, teachers, and students from inside and outside the CULR participating online.

During the lecture, Professor Kiu Sik Bae introduced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economies and employment of various countries with solid data, fully affirming the comprehensive efforts made by China in controlling the epidemic. He stated that China, as the only major economy to achieve positive growth during the pandemic, has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest economy when measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). He pointed out that the global labor market is currently facing new situations and problems such as polarization and flexibility in labor markets, diversified employment forms, weakened labor market regulation capabilities, and lack of social security rights for workers. He discussed the impact of the global climate crisis and climate policies of various countries on employment opportunities in the post-pandemic era, emphasizing that achieving the carbon neutrality goals of China and South Korea by 2050 will rely on investments and support for their respective infrastructures. He believed that with the vigorous development of clean energy, the dependence on jobs in the carbon energy industry for global economic and social sustainability would significantly decrease, making it difficult to create more high-quality job opportunities. Automation only replaces manual work in some routine tasks and does not replace entire industries. Enhancing the transparency of platform information, strengthening standardized labor management, and improving labor legislation to protect the rights of workers would help enhance the sustainable development capacity of the digital economy. He made predictions and analyses on the future changes in employment positions and occupational structures based on rich survey data, compared the advantages and disadvantages of digital technologies, and the development of platform workers in various countries, expressing his desire to deepen the understanding of research results on platform employment in China and learn from China's experiences and practices.

During the discussion session, Professor Wen Xiaoyi, Director of the Personnel Department and Dean of the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources of the CULR, made brilliant comments and responses on the impact of the pandemic on the labor market, technological development, the impact of technology on workers, and the protection of platform workers' rights. He also conducted a comparative analysis of the characteristics of platform employment in China and South Korea. In the interactive session, the audience engaged in in-depth discussions with Professor Kiu Sik Bae on topics such as unemployment insurance for platform workers and labor education.

Professor Kiu Sik Bae, currently serving as a permanent director and secretary-general of the Economic, Social, and Labor Council of South Korea, holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Business Studies from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He has served as the President of the Korea Labor Institute, a public member of the Korea Labor Relations Commission, Chief Advisor of the Economic and Social Development Committee, and convener of the Labor Market Institutional Reform Expert Group of the Economic and Social Development Committee. He has provided policy advice to administrative institutions such as the South Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, et al. In October 2019, he was invited to attend the CULR's 70th-anniversary celebration and was appointed as a visiting professor at our university.

(International Office of Cooperation and Exchange)