The Korea Labor Institute (KLI) is a government-funded research organization whose founding mission is to support the government's labor policy-making and to contribute to the development of Korean society by studying and analyzing issues of employment and industrial relations. At a time when the Korean economy needs to overcome the aftermath of the global financial crisis and make another leap, there is an urgent need to address employment issues and review the current employment safety net. The KLI strives to preemptively present effective policy alternatives, based on an interdisciplinary approach, that can help mitigate the employment crisis. Kiu Sik Bae is Director-General of the Labor Relations and Social Policy Research Division at the KLI. He holds a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies from the University of Warwick, UK.