We are delighted to announce that Jihye Park has joined the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) as a new Visiting Fellow.

Jihye is Director of the International Development Cooperation Division at the Ministry of Employment and Labour, Republic of Korea, where she oversees policies on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and cooperation with international organisations. She has spent more than 15 years at the Ministry working across employment policy and policy evaluation. She will be with the IPR until December 2026.

During her time here, Jihye will research and evaluate Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) – government initiatives to help individuals improve their skills and to find and keep jobs – in Korea. She will particularly focus on vocational training and employment services.

Jihye’s research responds to growing challenges in Korea’s labour market, where demographic shifts and rapid digitalisation have reduced job-creation capacity. At the same time, the reliance on short‑term, low‑skilled government-funded employment in Korea far exceeds the OECD average. Jihye will explore how the country can transition towards more sustainable, skills‑focused policies that improve job matching and workforce development. Through this research, she aims to provide evidence based insights that can assist the government in designing more effective approaches to direct job creation, vocational training and employment programmes.

On the appointment, Ashley Lait, Head of Policy Programmes and Communications at the IPR, said: "We are very much looking forward to Jihye’s time with the IPR. With ageing populations on the rise around the world, her research into the implications for the labour market and her insights into policies to improve job creation and training opportunities are very timely."

To arrange to meet with Jihye Park, or to find out more about our Visiting Fellows programme, please contact Claudia Torres-Cervantes, IPR Co-ordinator: ctc46@bath.ac.uk