The Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and other labor groups on the 5th called on the National Assembly and the government to legislate extending the retirement age to 65 within this year.
The two umbrella unions held a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, that day and said, "The pledge to extend the statutory retirement age to 65 must be carried out as promised," and stated accordingly.
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea pledged in its 22nd general election platform to push to legislate a phased extension to 65, linked to raising the starting age for receiving the national pension, within 2025. This was also included in President Lee Jae-myung's state agenda.
The two umbrella unions said, "The Democratic Party launched a National Assembly task force on extending the retirement age with the goal of legislating a 65-year retirement age within this year and continued social discussions for seven months, but it has remained passive and lukewarm, leaving it to labor-management agreement," and added, "We strongly urge the government and the Democratic Party to fulfill the promise to the public of 'legislating the retirement-age extension within this year,' and we demand that it be passed without fail as a key bill during the regular session in the second half of the year."
They continued, "From last year's social dialogue at the Economic, Social and Labor Council to the National Assembly's special committee discussions on extending the retirement age, social debate on a 65-year retirement age has matured," and said, "The positions of labor and management were sufficiently confirmed during the process, and in a situation where it is difficult to find further common ground, we cannot keep delaying time by invoking social consensus."
The two umbrella unions said, "It is now time for the National Assembly and the government to make a decision with the will to legislate and to put the legislative engine in motion," and added, "The National Assembly must no longer delay discussions on extending the retirement age and must immediately prepare a bill to extend the statutory retirement age to 65 within this year and pass it without fail during the regular session."