BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SDG 8

The Republic of Korea’s relationship with SDG 8, and more generally with the UN’s 2030 Agenda, has been a rather passive one over the course of the past decade. Since the adoption of the UN’s 2030 Agenda, the Republic of Korea has submitted just one Voluntary National Review to the UN and most of the national policies aimed at fostering sustainable development were introduced in the early 2000s, whereas only modest efforts towards the implementation of the various SDGs have been made  throughout the late 2010s and the early 2020s (Analysis Desk, 2026; Office for Government Policy Coordination, n.d.). 

However, the Republic of Korea now aims to strengthen its commitment towards towards the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. The South Korean government recently announced the drafting of its second Voluntary National Review, with the aim of thoroughly assessing the country’s overall progress and revealing the pressing challenges that have yet to be addressed (Analysis Desk, 2016).  With specific regard to SDG 8, the Republic of Korea is often praised for its strong economic performance, which should make it a prime candidate for the achievement of SDG 8’s targets. However, deep structural problems in the Korean labour market and its rapidly ageing population pose significant challenges that complicate the full implementation of SDG 8.

CURRENT CHALLENGES AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Despite its strong economic performance, the Republic of Korea currently faces significant challenges within its labour market. While aggregate unemployment stood at a comfortable 2.8% in 2025, the South Korean economy still remains characterised by a notably high incidence of temporary employment, which reached 22.7% in 2025, and by widespread informal employment, which currently affects almost a third of all Korean workers (International Labour Organization, n.d.). While temporary work arrangements may be seen as beneficial for certain workers given the flexibility they provide, they nonetheless imply considerable employment and income insecurity and typically lead to reduced long-term investments by employers in their workers’ human capital, thereby preventing workers from developing high-value skills that are essential for career progression and higher compensations (Grubb, Lee & Tergeist, 2007, p. 11). 

The extent of temporary and informal employment is exacerbating economic and social inequalities between Korean workers, with the Korean labour market often referred to as a dual market, where a large share of the active population works in precarious, informal jobs with no financial security and no insurance coverage, while a few “lucky” workers employed by large corporations enjoy high wages and stable working arrangements (Grubb, Lee & Tergeist, 2007, pp. 15-16; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2022, p. 11). This duality in the labour market is compounded by significant productivity gaps between Korean firms, with larger corporations generally being more productive than small and medium-sized enterprises. As a result, workers at large corporations are disproportionately better compensated relative to those working in small and medium-sized enterprises, exacerbating income inequalities within the Korean population (OECD, 2022, p. 11).

Moreover, although aggregate unemployment remains low, the picture changes significantly when discriminating between age groups, with unemployment among young Koreans aged 20 to 29 surpassing 6% in 2025 (Data and Statistics Research Institute, n.d.). On this matter, the concerning unemployment figures may even fail to convey the full extent of this gap, since a large number of young graduates drop out of the labour market altogether, thereby becoming inactive for considerable time periods and passing under the radar of official national statistics (Grubb, Lee & Tergeist, 2007, p. 12).

In addition, fertility rates in South Korea are plummeting and the population is ageing rapidly, putting social security systems under considerable strain and forewarning significant labour shortages in the near future (OECD, 2024, p. 86). All these issues risk compromising the achievement of decent work for all and threaten the sustainability of the Korean economy in the near future, thereby warranting immediate action if SDG 8 is to be implemented. 

LIST OF REFERENCES AND USEFUL LINKS

Analysis Desk. (2026, May 7). South Korea Initiates Drafting of UN SDGs Implementation Report. International United Nations Watch. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://intunwatch.com/south-korea-initiates-drafting-of-un-sdgs-implementation-report/

Data and Statistics Research Institute. (n.d.). Decent work and economic growth. Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://www.index.go.kr/unity/potal/sdgEn/8/SDGEnIndicator.do;jsessionid=Kw71zoREvPh0LyaVtDt0f26s3fSPbIrNjtI2wy6d.node11

Grubb, D., Lee, Jae-Kap, & Tergeist, P. (2007). Addressing Labour Market Duality in Korea. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers (Working Paper No. 61). https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/058184274204

International Labour Organization. (n.d.). Republic of Korea, ILOSTAT. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/country-profiles/kor/

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2022). OECD Economic Surveys: Korea 2022. https://doi.org/10.1787/20bf3d6e-en

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). OECD Economic Surveys: Korea 2024. https://doi.org/10.1787/c243e16a-en

Office for Government Policy Coordination. (n.d.). Korea’s Efforts Toward Sustainable Development. The Government of the Republic of Korea. Retrieved September 7, 2026, from https://www.ncsd.go.kr/en/overview/efforts#