Research Cluster

Democracy Cluster Future of Science and Technology Cluster Economic Security Cluster Population Cluster Global Korea Cluster Carbon Neutrality Cluster Balanced Regional Growth and Resilience Cluster [Expired]Pandemic Cluster

TF Project

[Expired]Foundational study for the advanced revision of the Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement [Expired]Preparation for Four Geopolitical Risks [Expired]Labor market reform tasks for restoring the dynamism of the Korean economy [Expired]Problems and Improvement Plans of Korean Education [Expired]Questions for the future of science and technology in Korea [Expired]Security and Economic Cooperation between Korea and Japan [Expired]The future of population for a sustainable society [Expired]Directions for sustainable future healthcare reform [Expired]Healthcare system improvements for the establishment of the primary care physician system [Expired]Avian influenza pandemic risk assessment and preparedness [Expired]The stagnant growth crisis: national strategy for economic prosperity

 

[Expired]Research on the outlook for key sectors of population change and response strategies [Expired]Exploring the public education system and its functions in population decline era [Expired]Policy advisory service for enhancing the future competitiveness of nuclear energy [Expired]Establishment of KEPCO's medium-to-long-term response strategy [Expired]Future agricultural and rural development strategies & response tasks for the Korea rural community [Expired]Rewriting Democracy [Expired]In the Era of Technological Competition, Korea's Future Prospects [Expired]Developing a nationally-unified response system to address frauds involving multiple victims [Expired]Changes in international politics and the rise of the global south [Expired]Research on identifying policy agendas and research issues for the national AI strategy

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Title Changes in the Capabilities of Koreans: A Decade-Long International Comparative Study Hit 586
Publication 2025-02-12

Institute for Future Strategy Issue Brief, February 2025 Vol. 26
“Changes in the Competencies of Koreans: An International Comparison over the Past Decade”

This issue brief provides an in-depth analysis of changes in the competencies of Koreans and structural problems in the labour market, based on the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). By linking the first and second cycles of PIAAC, conducted roughly ten years apart, the brief compares competency changes by age across different countries.

The results reveal an unusual pattern in Korea: compared to other major countries, competency decline begins at an earlier age. Moreover, despite Korea recording the largest increase in years of education and training among major countries over the past decade, competencies actually decreased—raising concerns about a potential decline in the quality of higher education.

The brief also finds that in the Korean labour market, wage returns to competency are relatively low, with tenure and employment in large corporations serving as the main determinants of wages. In such a structure, workers have little incentive to improve their competencies. Therefore, addressing early competency deterioration will require not only qualitative improvements in the education system but also reforms in the wage structure of the labour market.

Keywords
OECD PIAAC, competency changes, labour market, quality of education, wage structure

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