One in five Korean workers are over 60: Statistics

An elderly citizen waits for a subway train to make parcel deliveries at a subway station on March 20. [NEWS1]

One out of five Korean workers are over 60 years old, in an aging society with plunging birth rates.

The number of elderly still working and the on-year increase in the number of elderly working both reached all-time highs last year.

The number of people over 60 who were working last year stood at 5.86 million, hitting the highest figure since data compilation began in 1963, according to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Monday.

The number was up 452,000 from the previous year, exceeding the 400,000 threshold for the first time.

With some 6 million people aged over 60 in the workforce, the age group now accounts for 20.9 percent of the country's entire working population. The percentage of these working seniors surpassed the 20 percent mark for the first time.

The increase in the number for the month of March logged 547,000, also the highest since the monthly data compilation began in July 1982.

More people 70 or older are working now than in the past. The number working in this age group last year was 1.72 million, the highest since data compilation for that age began in 2018. This number grew to 1.82 million in March, accounting for 6.5 percent of the entire working population.

The elderly’s record-breaking streak continues even into the start-up industry. The number of start-ups founded by a CEO above 60 last year was 129,384, the highest since data collection began in 2016.

The number was up 76.1 percent compared to the number in 2016, nearly four times the increase in the number of all start-ups, which climbed just 20.3 percent.

Baby boomers are reaching retirement age and accelerating the aging trend.

Last year, one out of four Koreans, or 25.7 percent, were over 60 years of age. They were up 9.6 percentage points from a decade ago.

More people are living healthier and longer lives, riding on the back of medical advancements. And as the elderly population comprises a larger portion of the overall population, they expect less financial support from their children and want to work as long as they can.

Of the 500 workers over age 60 surveyed by Gyeonggi Research Institute last year, 46.3 percent of those who wished to continue working said they want to continue for as long as their health conditions permit. Another 38.1 percent said they need the money; 7.4 percent said society is in need of their abilities; and 5.9 percent said they are bored.

“It’s important to shape conditions for the elderly population to continue working as the number of well-educated working seniors who possess IT abilities increases and the working-age population decreases,” said Kim Young-sun, professor of east-west medical science at Kyung Hee University.

BY SOHN HAE-YONG, SEO JI-WON [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]