Labor groups on the 16th urged the National Assembly to raise the statutory retirement age to 65 from the current 60.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a "news conference urging legislation to extend the retirement age to 65" at the National Assembly's press center that day.
At the event, the two national labor federations said, "Extending the retirement age is a task of the times that can no longer be delayed," and added, "The extension should be pursued in a way that prevents any income gap."
In this regard, the Democratic Party of Korea's special committee on extending the retirement age is reportedly reviewing a plan to raise the statutory retirement age to 61 in 2029 and then increase it by one year every two years to reach 65 in 2037. The two national labor federations said, "Under the Democratic Party's plan, implementation would be excessively delayed, inevitably leaving severe income gaps for cohorts nearing retirement, such as those born in 1967 and 1968."
Those born from 1961 to 1964 receive the national pension starting at 63, those born from 1965 to 1968 at 64, and those born in 1969 and after at 65. If the Democratic Party's plan is implemented, those born in 1966, who reach the retirement age this year, would face a three-year income gap until 2023, when they begin receiving the pension.
Yang Kyung-su, chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), said, "President Lee Jae-myung pledged during the presidential race to gradually extend the statutory retirement age to 65 and to enact legislation by 2025, but the promise was not kept without a persuasive explanation." He added, "It is now time for the government and the National Assembly to decide, and the National Assembly must immediately move to legislate the extension of the statutory retirement age to 65."