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Housing in Korea has been part of the government policy development agenda for the past three decades contributing to reducing the historical housing shortage and improving the quality of dwellings. Despite its achievements, Korea now faces a housing affordability challenge as prices are too high for several social groups (i.e. newly wedded), owner occupancy levels are decreasing, and social housing is struggling to meet demand. Korea has a complex social housing system largely focused on low-income households, who still suffer from housing poverty in terms of housing stability, affordability and quality. A holistic view on housing policy to promote a more inclusive society and sustainable economic growth is needed. To overcome the current housing challenge requires expanding the network of public housing providers by including the private and community sectors that could alleviate the government’s financial burden. Korea is linking housing and urban regeneration strategies to respond to the complex challenges of social inclusion, job creation, housing and economic revitalisation. Korea has been at the forefront of smart city development for more than a decade, which has brought benefits to Korean cities such as integrated transport systems, and it is now committed to applying the concept as a vehicle for inclusive growth.

This report on Korea is the fourth country study published in a series of reports looking into how policies connect people with jobs, following reports on Australia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. It has a special focus on low-income groups, jobseekers and workers, and policies geared towards closing the considerable gaps these groups are facing around income and employment support. In the past forty years, Korea has gone through a remarkable economic transformation and in the past two decades, the country has also put in place a comprehensive social protection system and a strong activation framework. Nevertheless, features of Korea’s labour market, which include very low job tenure, a high degree of duality and a high level of informality, make it difficult for some measures to reach workers and jobseekers. This report concludes that significant additional action will be needed to make income and employment supports more effective and inclusive.    

Under Action 14, countries have committed to implement a minimum standard to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP). The MAP is included in Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and commits countries to endeavour to resolve disputes related to the interpretation and application of tax treaties. The Action 14 Minimum Standard has been translated into specific terms of reference and a methodology for the peer review and monitoring process. The minimum standard is complemented by a set of best practices. The peer review process is conducted in two stages.  Stage 1 assesses countries against the terms of reference of the minimum standard according to an agreed schedule of review. Stage 2 focuses on monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' stage 1 peer review report. This report reflects the outcome of the stage 1 peer review of the implementation of the Action 14 Minimum Standard by Korea.

This report, undertaken within the framework of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth initiative, assesses inclusive growth trends and challenges in the Seoul metropolitan area. The analysis goes beyond income to assess the barriers faced by specific groups - non-regular workers, youth, women, the elderly and migrants - across four dimensions: education, labour market, housing and the urban environment, and infrastructure and public services. The study then takes a closer look at two major policy efforts by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to advance inclusive growth. The study analyses the city’s efforts to ensure that strategies to address climate change also protect and benefit the most vulnerable populations, notably through the Promise of Seoul, which puts citizen welfare and social inclusion at the heart of the city’s efforts to tackle climate change. The study also assesses the efforts of city authorities to level the playing field for small firms and entrepreneurs through its Economic Democratisation Agenda.

Korea is often cited as a leading example of how sound economic policies can drive growth and development, blazing a trail from poverty to advanced industrialisation throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Building on its reputation as a development success, Korea now plays a highly valued role on the global stage, sharing its knowledge with others and helping to bridge the divide between developing and developed country interests. Among other issues, this review looks at how Korea shares its own impressive development experience with others and how it is dealing with key challenges in co-ordinating grants and loans across government. It also explores how Korea is expanding its aid programme to work on new priorities such as assistance to fragile and crisis-affected countries.