The Democratic Party of Korea stated that it would complete the legislative work supporting presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung's 'extension of retirement age' pledge by November of this year. Lee's pledge is to promote the introduction of a 4.5-day work week and extend the retirement age under the banner of 'work-life balance.' A bill will be submitted in the upcoming September regular session of the National Assembly, led by the Environment and Labor Committee, with the aim of completing legislation within two months.
Kim Joo-young, a lawmaker and secretary of the Democratic Party of Korea's 'retirement age extension task force (TF),' told a 'retirement age extension National Assembly discussion' held on the 22nd that 'the Democratic Party is aiming for legislative action on the extension of retirement age by November of this year,' adding that 'while discussions are currently paused due to the elections, we will swiftly continue discussions until September after the presidential election.'
The discussion on that day was co-hosted by Democratic Party members of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. During the discussion, opinions predominated that the current retirement age system of 60 years should be 'uniformly extended' to 65 years, citing the limitations of the current system.
Professor Jung Heung-jun of Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who was the presenter, stated, 'The population participating in production will decrease to half of the current level in 50 years,' adding that 'we cannot overlook the fact that the number of people who can work healthily both physically and mentally over the age of 60 is increasing.' He continued, 'Even if we extend uniformly, it is more appropriate to consider a phased approach that takes into account the 'pension eligibility age' rather than directly setting the retirement age to 65.'
There were also claims that continuous wage increases and job retention should be implemented alongside the retirement age extension. Kim Sung-hee, head of L-ESG Research Institute, noted that 'issues such as wage system reform and exceptional applicability of unfavorable collective bargaining agreement clauses lack both practicality and objectivity in direction setting, and only serve to halt discussions,' emphasizing the need for a job model that does not treat workers as 'ghost workers' while adjusting job roles, hours, and responsibilities rather than just wages.
However, there were also criticisms demanding 'wage compromise' from labor unions. Professor Jung Heung-jun remarked, 'I believe it will not be easy for labor unions to gain both employment and wages,' stating that 'it is necessary for the unions to compromise to a certain extent in the wage sector.' To realize the extension of the retirement age demanded by the labor community, a compromise with management is necessary instead of continuously demanding wage increases.
The legal retirement age extension is cited as a representative issue with divided positions between labor and management. The business sector prefers 'activation of re-employment after retirement' instead of uniform extension. The Korea Enterprises Federation stated in its report on 'tasks for expanding the utilization of older personnel' released on the 1st that 'as we forcibly extend the legal retirement age, the capacity for new hiring in businesses decreases,' suggesting that 'ways to secure job opportunities for the elderly through re-employment after retirement should be considered, while also ensuring youth employment.'
Lawmaker Kim stated, 'There are concerns about how to harmoniously balance the positions of labor and management,' adding, 'I believe it is important to develop a unique model for Korea by incorporating examples from Japan and Taiwan.'