Statement
by PARK Yu-ri, Second Secretary, Human Rights and Social Affairs Division of MOFAT
Agenda Item(64 : Social Development)
Third Committee
Sixty-second Session of the General Assembly

Mr. Chairman,

In the era of globalization we are seeing abject poverty and misery alongside unprecedented economic 
growth. Despite a many-fold increase in world wealth, and the long-term trend towards democracy, 
a number of social problems still remain unsolved and are even deepening. Low levels of economic growth 
and investment in many parts of the world should be paid primary attention to. However, widening income 
disparities, increasing unemployment, population growth and aging issues are also some of the serious 
challenges to be addressed in a more systematical ways. These issues should be a priority of international 
cooperation and national agenda. Close partnership, balanced and integrated strategies and shared responsibility
among the United Nations, Member States, and all stakeholders are required. Above all, we should make 
sustained efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals and to explore ways to fully implement 
commitments and programme of action of the UN World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen 
in 1995.

Mr. Chairman,

The Forty-fifth Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD) in February this year focused on 
promoting ‘full employment and decent work for all’. We reconfirmed the shared concern of the international
Community with respect to ensuring the equitable distribution of the benefits of globalization and the right to work
as a means to make sustainable development possible. Given the central role of employment in 
achieving both poverty eradication and social integration, our government considers it highly pertinent that 
the the CSocD as well as the ILO are focusing on the matter of the promotion of full employment and 
decent work for all. We need to ensure that full employment and decent work for all, including vulnerable 
groups, is a central objective of international policies and national development strategies.

Mr. Chairman,

We should pay particular attention to marginalized and vulnerable groups such as women, youth, older 
workers, unskilled, persons with disabilities, and migrants in the process of delivering economic growth. 
Such groups generally face increasing insecurity in the workplace and shrinking opportunities for decent 
work.

With similar trends evident around the world, youth unemployment is emerging as a big concern in the 
Republic of Korea. To address this issue, my government is providing necessary assistance to vulnerable 
youth whilst also devising measures to utilize various mechanisms to reinforce government coordination in 
countering youth unemployment.  The Government of Korea attaches importance to the active participation 
of youth in economic and social process and the dialogue among world youth.  In this context, my government 
is planning to host “the Second Conference of the Ministers Responsible for Youth” in collaboration with UN in 2009. 

With respect to employment, one of our particular concern relates to the disables. To encourage employment 
of the disabled, my government established the Act for the Prohibition of Disability Discrimination and the 
Assurance of Rights of People with Disabilities in April of this year. It has also set a framework by fulfilling 
the mandatory employment rate, and the private sector, led by large companies, has been encouraged to sign 
the Act on the Promotion of Employment of Disabled Persons. Moreover, my country further contributed 
to the empowerment of persons with disabilities through the hosting of the 2007 Disabled Persons’ International 
World Assembly in September of this year.

With regard to foreign workers in the Republic of Korea, the “Employment Permit System (EPS)” was 
introduced in 2004, laying the foundation for a harmonious society where foreign workers are given job 
opportunities as well as social security and human rights protection.

The Republic of Korea is one of the most rapidly-ageing societies. The aged comprise approximately 9.5% 
of the total population and over twenty percent of those reside in rural areas. With full attention to its seriousness,
the Government of the Republic of Korea has developed national policies to implement the 2002 Madrid Action Plan
on Ageing. These policies include the enhancement of the welfare of older people by creating job opportunities, 
promoting senior-friendly industries, strengthening social integration through inter-generational relations, and raising
public awareness of issues of older people.

My government has continued to pursue economic and labour policies simultaneously, encouraging the fair 
distribution of income and sustainable growth so as to address the polarization of society since the 1997 
financial crisis. It is also exerting efforts to improve working conditions for non-regular workers so that they 
will not be victimized by unreasonable discrimination in the labour market.

Mr. Chairman,

My delegation would like to take highly note of the remarkable progress in the area of social development 
achieved by the United Nations and Member States in recent years. We believe that the goal for social 
development should be empowering people, particularly by including vulnerable groups, and ultimately 
enhancing their welfare. Comprehensive approaches, integrated strategies and shared responsibility to 
implementation will lead to the social development that we all so urgently need.

Thank you.