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Behind Korea’s high senior employment rate: A need for more meaningful work

Published: 28 May. 2025, 00:00

Older people wait to receive food at the Wongaksa soup kitchen near Tapgol Park in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Dec. 24, 2024. Korea became a ″super-aged society″ — classified by the United Nations as when the population aged 65 years or older account for more than 20 percent of the total population — as of Dec. 23. [YONHAP]

Korea has recorded the highest employment rate among people aged 65 and older across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to a recent report by the National Assembly Budget Office, 37.3 percent of seniors in Korea were employed as of 2023. That figure is 2.7 times the OECD average of 13.6 percent and even significantly higher than Japan’s 25.3 percent, despite its reputation as a super-aged society.

On the surface, continued economic activity among older adults appears to be a positive response to Korea’s shrinking working-age population. Seniors who remain employed can contribute their accumulated experience and expertise to the economy. However, a closer look at the data paints a less optimistic picture.

Over half of employed seniors have re-entered the workforce in jobs unrelated to their preretirement careers. Many work in small businesses under poor conditions, often as irregular workers doing low-skilled or manual labor. As of 2023, 61.2 percent of employed seniors were irregular workers, and 35.4 percent held basic jobs. Nearly half — 49.4 percent — were employed at businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

The reason so many older Koreans return to the workforce, despite difficult conditions, lies in Korea’s inadequate retirement safety net. The country’s elderly poverty rate stands at 38.4 percent, the highest among OECD member states. Even seniors who receive pension benefits struggle financially. The report notes that the average monthly pension for Koreans over 65 is approximately 800,000 won — well below the government’s 2024 minimum monthly living cost for a single-person household, which is 1.34 million won. With pensions falling short, many seniors have little choice but to work.

Korea entered the era of a “super-aged society” last year, meaning over 20 percent of the population is now 65 or older. Utilizing the senior workforce productively has become a matter of national competitiveness. This requires not just encouraging re-employment, but addressing mismatches between retirees’ skills and the jobs available. Seniors should be able to find work that draws on their professional experience, easing income insecurity while putting their knowledge to use.

Instead of uniformly extending the retirement age, policies should support flexible re-employment options, allowing companies to make their own decisions on retaining senior staff. This approach would create more sustainable employment environments for older workers.

Korea recorded the highest relative poverty rate among the retirement-age population — aged 66 and older — among the 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. An older adult is seen eating instant porridge in an alley near Tapgol Park in Jongno District, Seoul. [NEWS1]

Expanding the basic pension system may also be necessary, but any reforms must be carefully designed. A report from the Korea Development Institute suggests that while poverty remains high among the oldest Koreans — particularly those with low participation in the national pension system — the poverty rate is declining among cohorts born after 1950. Rather than broad increases, the government should consider more targeted support for the most vulnerable.

Korea’s top-ranked senior employment rate masks a troubling reality: Too many older adults are working not by choice, but out of necessity. Addressing the underlying causes — from income insecurity to job mismatches — will be key to transforming this statistic from a burden into an asset.

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