17th Korea Welfare Panel Conference held on September 25

• ■Presentations and discussions on 15 topics in 6 sessions, including ‘Poverty and Vulnerable Groups,’ ‘Mental Health and Health,’ ‘Labor,’ ‘Children and Adolescents,’ ‘Quality of Life,’ and ‘Graduate Students,’ followed by an award ceremony for outstanding graduate student papers.
  
  

• ■KIHASA’s Acting President Kang Hye-kyu said, “The Korea Welfare Panel is specialized in research for policy development for low-income groups, encompassing income, wealth, living conditions, and welfare needs, and is widely used across various academic fields.”

KIHASA, in collaboration with the Seoul National University Social Welfare Research Center, held the "Korea Welfare Panel Conference" on the 25th at 10 a.m. at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Since 2006, the Korea Welfare Panel has been conducting surveys on income, assets, and living conditions of about 7,000 households each year, and has been recognized for its excellent policy research on low-income groups. The "Korea Welfare Panel Conference" is an academic event that brings together academic and policy experts to share and discuss research findings on welfare policy and social issues. This year marks the 17th conference.

The morning session, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., featured seven presentations and discussions on three main topics: ‘Poverty and Vulnerable Groups,’ ‘Mental Health and Health,’ and ‘Labor.’ Presentations included: "An Analysis of Labor Market Outcomes from Employment Support Services for Low-Income Groups" (Jung Sung-mi, Korean Women's Development Institute), "Exploring Predictive Factors to Prevent Mental Health (Depression) in Korean Adults: Using Machine Learning Methods" (Eom Yeon-yong, Konyang University), and "Exploratory Study on the Relationship between Job Insecurity, Depression, and Suicidal Thoughts" (Cho Young-min & Kim Joo-hyun, Ewha Womans University).

After the morning session, KIHASA’s Acting President Kang Hye-kyu and Director Hong Baek-ui of SNU Social Welfare Research Center delivered opening remarks. This was followed by a congratulatory speech by Seok Jae-eun, President of the Korean Academy of Social Welfare, and an award ceremony for outstanding graduate student papers. The afternoon session began at 2:00 p.m.

The afternoon session, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., included presentations and discussions on eight topics across the themes of ‘Children and Adolescents,’ ‘Quality of Life,’ and ‘Graduate Students.’ Topics included: "Predictive Factors of High School Students’ Subjective Happiness Using Random Forest: Focusing on Gender Comparisons" (Jeong Ik-jung, Oh Soo-kyung, Choi Yoo-jung, and Yang Sang-min, Ewha Womans University), "The Impact of Adults' Political Interest, Satisfaction, and Welfare Perception on Life Satisfaction in Korean Society: A Panel Analysis from 2013 to 2022" (Kwak Soo-ran, Naju University, and Kim Mi-jung, Sooncheon National University), and "Examining the Impact of Home Environment and School Life Factors on Changes in Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Adolescents During Elementary, Middle, and High School: A Comparison Between the 2006 and 2015 Cohorts" (Baek Ye-eun, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Education, Chungnam National University).

In her opening remarks, Acting President Kang Hye-kyu emphasized, “The Korea Welfare Panel is a survey that covers income, assets, living conditions, and welfare needs, and can be widely utilized in various academic fields and policy research, particularly for policy development for low-income groups. This year's conference, the 17th in its series, is expected to foster more substantial discussions than ever before, as the Korea Welfare Panel continues to serve as an essential platform for academic and policy development. We look forward to your continued interest and participation.”