South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for increased cooperation between his country and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Thursday.

The remarks came at a meeting with OECD Secretary-General Jose Angel Gurria, who arrived here earlier in the week at the invitation of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

"I look forward to your visit to Korea as an auspicious occasion to further extend and develop the good relationship between Korea and the OECD," the president told Gurria through his interpreter.

The OECD chief said the cooperation between South Korea and the OECD was already strong and that it continues to growth over time.


He then praised the new South Korean president for his policy initiative that focused on social and economic justice.

"I would like to congratulate you for your policy priorities, and say that your agenda looks almost suspiciously like OECD agenda," Gurria said. "Strong emphasis on productivity, growth, jobs, but also strong emphasis on social justice and inclusiveness."

The OECD secretary-general also proposed the two sides work together to enable South Korea's inclusive growth.

"We also know that you are very concerned about inclusive growth in Korea, so we would like to propose to Korea... that perhaps we could work with you and for you on an analysis, in-depth work on inclusive growth for Korea," he said.

President Moon underscored the need to address the issue of social and economic polarization.

"Our government is doing its utmost, placing top priority on realizing inclusive growth and resolving polarization," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun quoted him as saying.

"As we believe the concentration of benefits of our country's economic growth in the past may have been one of the elements that worsened social polarization, I hope we can continue to work closely with the OECD to resolve the issue," Moon added, according to the spokesman.

Moon and Gurria also acknowledged an urgent need to address the issues of low birthrate and the aging population, calling them "very serious" problems facing South Korea, Park said in a press release. (Yonhap)