Let young people work: Confronting Korea’s employment crisis

Home > Opinion > Columns

Let young people work: Confronting Korea’s employment crisis

Published: 17 Jun. 2025, 00:03

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Park Su-ryon

The author is the industry news desk head at the JoongAng Ilbo.

“In Korea today, companies look to Japan for talent and to China for ideas,” a senior executive at a major Korean conglomerate recently remarked.

The days when Korea brought in advanced technology from Japan and used China as a manufacturing base are long past. What is drawing renewed attention now is Korean firms’ interest in Japanese youth. Despite Japan’s lower average starting salaries for college graduates, the talent pool is considered strong, making them cost-effective hires. Many Japanese youth, in turn, prefer Korean companies because of better wages and the appeal of Korean culture.

As of February, the number of young people in Korea who were unemployed, preparing for jobs or simply taking a break reached 1.2 million. The photo shows job seekers browsing employment postings at the Seoul Western Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo District, Seoul, on March 17. [YONHAP]

This trend is already reshaping corporate strategy. Korean firms in advanced technology sectors are establishing research and development centers in Japan to recruit engineering talent with master’s or doctoral degrees. Others have opened AI research labs in India or Vietnam for similar reasons.

Given China’s rise, it makes sense that Korean companies are seeking talent globally. But it is a bitter pill. In 2025, Korea appears unable to protect either its technological edge or high-quality jobs. Even the skilled manufacturing jobs that once helped build the country’s middle class are now being drawn to the United States. Will younger generations — those in their 20s and 30s — ever enjoy better opportunities than their parents or grandparents?

Young people walk down a street in Noryangjin, Dongjak District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 16. [YONHAP]

The numbers are discouraging. According to data released by Statistics Korea on June 11, the employment rate rose slightly to 63.8 percent in May, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous year. But that increase was driven entirely by older workers. For the first time, more than seven million Koreans over 60 were employed. In contrast, the employment rate for those aged 15 to 29 fell by 0.7 percentage points to 46.2 percent.

A closer look at the college graduate employment rate paints an even starker contrast. As of late 2024, Korea’s rate stood at 64.6 percent, compared to 98 percent in Japan, according to figures released in April 2025.

More troubling than the numbers is the underlying reality. In February, the government reported that over 500,000 young people were doing “nothing” — not working, studying or seeking jobs. While economic slowdowns and corporate hiring freezes contributed, the problem runs deeper.

A Bank of Korea analysis focusing on the 25–34 age group revealed a sustained rise in the number of young people who had withdrawn from the labor market since early 2023 — the first such trend since the pandemic. Strikingly, many of these were not inexperienced youth, but individuals who had once held jobs and chose to leave voluntarily. Why?

The answer lies in the quality of work. Many young people find that the jobs available to them are too insecure, too poorly paid or too short-term to be sustainable. According to a Korea Employment Information Service survey, 38.1 percent of youth who had been inactive for over a year said they could not find jobs they wanted. The real issue is not laziness or entitlement — it is the lack of quality jobs.

In the past, these mismatches were often blamed on young people’s “unrealistic expectations.” But that view ignores the structural issues. Korea’s bifurcated labor market — divided between large conglomerates and small businesses, permanent and temporary positions — remains unchanged. Even in shipbuilding, a sector enjoying a rare boom, Korean youth are absent. Risky, low-paying roles have long been outsourced to foreign workers through subcontractors. For young Koreans, it may as well be someone else’s economy.

Despite this, the presidential campaign failed to elevate youth employment as a central issue. Proposals centered on the already-employed, such as a four-and-a-half-day workweek or extending the retirement age — popular among those in their 50s and 60s — dominated headlines.

But employment is not just an economic indicator; it is a source of social identity, stability and dignity. Ignoring youth unemployment risks compounding social costs in the future.

One policy, in particular, needs rethinking: raising the retirement age. Though promised by the president, extending the statutory retirement age to 65 would cost businesses roughly 30.2 trillion won ($22.2 billion) to retain 590,000 workers for five more years, according to estimates from the Korea Enterprises Federation. That same amount could fund the employment of 902,000 people aged 25 to 29 at the average monthly wage of 2.79 million won.

Filipino domestic caregivers arrive at Incheon International Airport on Aug. 7, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Which group should be prioritized — those already in the workforce with opportunities to extend employment, or those struggling to gain a foothold in the first place?

Hoping that jobs will naturally increase with economic recovery is not enough. Government-created low-wage jobs, like those expanded during the Moon Jae-in administration, have proven unsustainable. Regional job models like those in Gwangju, Gunsan and Gumi have largely faltered.

What is needed now is space for private-sector experimentation and investment, and for serious government engagement, to identify the industries that can offer new employment pathways for youth. The new president, who has devoted considerable attention to Korea’s 14 million retail investors, must invest at least as much energy in those waiting for their first job. That is where the future of the country lies.

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