Addressing Korea’s labor shortage: Valuing the experience of older workers

Home > Opinion > Columns

Addressing Korea’s labor shortage: Valuing the experience of older workers

Published: 15 May. 2025, 00:03 Updated: 15 May. 2025, 14:14

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Lee Yoon-jin

The author is a professor of Research Institute for a Healthy Aging Society at Konkuk University

Korea is aging faster than any other country in the world. As of last December, the share of the population aged 65 and older surpassed 20 percent, officially marking Korea’s entry into a super-aged society. At the same time, Korea is seeing one of the world’s fastest declines in birthrates. Although the country’s total fertility rate in February slightly rose to 0.82, it remains well below the replacement level of 2.1.

A newborn baby care unit at a public postpartum center in Seoul. According to Statistics Korea’s population projections, the country’s population is expected to shrink from 51.44 million in 2022 to 36.22 million by 2072. By then, the median age will reach 63.4, making Korea a “nation of the elderly,” with more than half of its population past the age of 60. [YONHAP]

Korea is now deeply entrenched in a demographic crisis defined by both an ultralow birthrate and rapid aging. The country is losing its working-age population, which has long served as the backbone of the Korean economy. The number of people 15 to 64 — the so-called economically active population — peaked at 37.63 million in 2018 and has been in steady decline ever since.

The implications are grave. A shrinking labor force jeopardizes economic growth and drives up the costs of social welfare. For a country whose development has hinged on human capital, a labor shortage is not merely a policy challenge but a national emergency. Korea can no longer afford to treat the low birthrate as a matter of private choice.

Seoul is experiencing worsening trends of low birthrates and population aging. Elderly residents are seen watching a game of janggi, or Korean chess, near Tapgol Park in central Seoul. [NEWS1]

Japan is often cited as Korea’s demographic precursor. Though Japan confronted the shocks of low fertility and aging earlier, it managed to maintain stability by boosting the labor force participation rate among older adults to more than 25 percent. Japan has also aggressively sought to attract skilled foreign workers. Korea would do well to learn from this approach.

Some of Japan’s municipal governments have also tackled the birthrate issue through community-based initiatives. One example is the western Japanese town of Nagi in Okayama Prefecture, where intergenerational community engagement and comprehensive child rearing support have pushed the fertility rate to an impressive 2.3.

In contrast, Korea faces a triple threat: low fertility, rapid aging and a declining work force. Beyond the shrinking population, Korea’s existing population also struggles to adapt to fast-changing industrial demands. Unless the country addresses this "dual shock" in both work force size and skill, it risks a serious labor crisis in both quantity and quality.

The consequences are clear. A society where people cannot afford to raise children, where youth are shut out of a rigid labor market and where older adults are marginalized after retirement, is headed toward decline, not growth.

The solutions are equally clear. First, we must recognize that solving the labor crisis requires more than simply increasing employment figures. The future labor market will be shaped by technological innovation and the expanded participation of older workers. To adapt to this shift, Korea must promote lifelong learning and enhance digital literacy among all age groups.

The focus should be on creating work environments that allow older adults to stay active based on their health and capacity. Extending the retirement age alone is insufficient. Institutions must find ways to harness the experience of older workers by redesigning job roles, expanding part-time and remote work options and diversifying employment models.

Second, Korea needs a fundamental overhaul of its foreign labor policy. The approach must move beyond meeting short-term labor shortages and shift toward attracting and retaining skilled international talent. This involves broadening employment training programs and responding to surging demand in sectors such as elder care and health care, especially through digital transformation.

To integrate foreign workers meaningfully, Korea must establish long-term visa policies and provide legal and sociocultural frameworks to support their settlement. Germany, Australia and Canada are examples of countries that have made global talent recruitment a national priority.

Former Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok presides over a meeting of the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee at the government complex in central Seoul on March 5. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Third, the demographic crisis should not be reduced to a partisan issue or a one-off campaign slogan. It is a structural challenge that cuts to the core of Korea’s future. Raising and supporting children is not just an individual burden but a collective investment in society’s sustainability.

If Korea fails to act now, the nation could face a dystopian future in which no babies are born, and no young workers remain. Whether Korea can overcome this crisis and continue to play a leading role in the global community depends on the choices and preparations made today.

As we observe the month of May — a season associated with family and renewal — the urgency of these decisions becomes all the more apparent. Korea’s ability to secure a future of growth, not decline, lies in how it responds to its demographic reality now.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.