Presidential committee, research council sign MOU to advance 'basic society' agenda

The Presidential Basic Society Committee and the Economy, Humanities and Social Research Council signed a memorandum of understanding Monday at the committee's office in Eojin-dong, Sejong, to advance the realization of a "basic society."

The research council, a public institution under the prime minister, is one of South Korea's leading policy research bodies, supporting and fostering government-funded research institutes in the fields of economics and the humanities and social sciences.

The MOU aims to strengthen the research foundation for basic society policy and develop more effective measures by drawing on the council's expertise and policy networks.

Under the agreement, the two organizations will formally pursue policy research and cooperation toward realizing a basic society.

Their collaboration will cover joint research and policy evaluation for the development of basic society policies and systems, joint identification of policy trends and future agenda items, co-hosting of international forums, academic conferences, seminars and discussion sessions, sharing of research data and statistics, and the exchange of researchers, experts and policy advisers to build a cooperative framework.

Through these efforts, the two bodies plan to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and expand cooperation to ensure that research findings translate into concrete policy.

"For the basic society to make a real difference in people's lives, developing policy grounded in objective research and data is paramount," said Kang Nam-hoon, vice chairman of the Basic Society Committee. "We will work closely with the Economy, Humanities and Social Research Council to invigorate joint research and policy discussions, and build basic society policies that people can actually feel."

Lee Han-ju, chairman of the Economy, Humanities and Social Research Council, said the council would "actively support basic society policy drawing on our research capabilities in economics and the humanities and social sciences, and expand cooperation through joint research and academic exchange."