- Strengthening Policy Research Networks and Graduate Student Research Capabilities -

In the first half of 2026, research labs at KDI School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School) successfully hosted five diverse academic events. These events served as a vital hub for fostering academic exchange and strengthening policy research networks.

Every year, KDI School research labs organize academic activities alongside domestic and international researchers and policy officials. These collaborative initiatives aim to share recent policy and research trends, disseminate research findings, build collaborative networks, and enhance the research capabilities of graduate students. These events provided meaningful opportunities to examine pressing global and societal issues while broadening academic horizons.

Addressing Key Global and Societal Issues: From Demographics to AI and International Politics

1. Population Policy Lab (PP Lab) | May 15-16, 2026

Led by Professor Seulki Choi, the PP Lab co-hosted “The Population Association of Korea 2026 Annual Meeting” at KDI School together with the Population Association of Korea, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the Seoul Institute, and Gachon University, under the theme “Revisiting Population Phenomena: Beyond Fragmented Views toward an Integrated Scientific Perspective.” Designed to address critical demographic challenges such as low fertility and population aging, the two-day event brought together 163 participants, including association members, researchers, and students, across parallel sessions, roundtables, a book talk, and poster sessions covering various subfields.

2. Behavioral and Experimental Economics Lab (BEE Lab) | May 29, 2026

Opened by KDI School Dean Joon-Kyung Kim, the BEE Lab hosted the “2026 Policy Experiment Forum,” focusing on “Fair Competition and Consumer Protection.” Bringing together 32 researchers and policy practitioners from institutions including Yonsei University, KAIST, Sejong University, and the Korea Fair Trade Commission, the forum included five policy experiment research presentations and three economic analysis case discussions, closing with remarks from Professor Choi Seung-joo of Seoul National University. The event highlighted practical ways to apply experimental economics to policy evaluation and case analysis.

3. Sustainable Development Lab (SD Lab) | June 5, 2026

Co-hosted with the London School of Economics and Political Science, the SD Lab held a conference titled “Powering AI: Energy, Labor, and Data Center Economy” to address the energy and environmental impacts driven by the expansion of artificial intelligence. A total of 85 participants—including experts, researchers, and graduate students—gathered to discuss data-driven research. Keynote addresses by Professor Tony Harding (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Professor Charlie Wilson (University of Oxford) anchored sessions exploring the latest research trends on AI's impact on energy systems, labor markets, and the data center economy. The workshop covered multiple themes throughout the day, including the employment effects of data centers, using multi-agent reinforcement learning to identify electricity markets, and the future of data infrastructure.

4. Global Strategy and Political Economy Lab (GSPE Lab) | June 18-19, 2026

Opened by Associate Dean Wonhyuk Lim of the Office of Research and  International Cooperation, the GSPE Lab organized an international workshop titled “The Era of Great Power Politics: Political Institutions, Democratic Resilience, and Domestic Sources of Global Rivalry.” The event attracted 183 participants, including speakers from leading global institutions such as NYU Abu Dhabi, MIT, the National University of Singapore, Princeton University, Harvard University, and UC Berkeley, as well as graduate students and researchers. Participants also represented a wide range of Korean/domestic academic and policy institutions, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University. Against the backdrop of rising protectionism, growing economic security concerns, intensifying U.S.–China rivalry, and democratic backsliding, the workshop featured 15 research presentations across five panels. The five panels addressed great-power rivalry, technology and AI governance, democratic resilience, gender and development, and bureaucratic expertise and state-business relations. The program also included career mentoring sessions on preparing for admission to leading U.S. political science PhD programs and navigating U.S. academia as a junior scholar.

5. Inequality and Economic Policy Lab (IEP Lab) | June 26, 2026

Led by Professor Changkeun Lee, the IEP Lab held a workshop titled "Technology Adoption in Elderly Care: Policy Perspective and Empirical Evidence." Attended by 37 experts, researchers, and graduate students, the event brought together presenters from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Canada, and Australia to examine empirical evidence on care technology and automation in aging societies. Sessions covered Korea's integrated care policy landscape, older adults' willingness to accept robot caregivers in Japan and Taiwan, and facility-level adoption barriers and employment implications in Korea, with discussion turning to policy feedback, labor market impacts, and future research collaborations.

Expanding Knowledge Networks and Driving Research Impact

Through these first-half initiatives, KDI School research labs further solidified bridges between academia and policy-making spheres while offering students invaluable exposure to cutting-edge research trends. KDI School will continue supporting active research lab operations to drive impactful, policy-oriented global research.