LG Electronics is introducing a "rehiring system" that continues to utilize skilled workers beyond the mandatory retirement age. Following Hyundai Motor and POSCO Holdings, LG Electronics' entry into post-retirement rehiring signals that this trend will spread across the broader industrial sector. Major corporations are rehiring skilled workers to facilitate technology transfer and stabilize production, rather than being bound by a uniform extension of the mandatory retirement age. Samsung Electronics operates a "Senior Track" program that utilizes retired specialists centered on its "Samsung Master Craftsman" designation. SK hynix has introduced a technical expert (HE) system. Automakers, steelmakers, and shipbuilders are also working to secure production stability through rehiring.
The expansion of post-retirement rehiring by corporations is likely a pragmatic choice to minimize the side effects of a statutory retirement age extension. The "statutory retirement age extension to 65" being pursued by the ruling party and government could end up strengthening benefits for a select protected group rather than addressing the income gap affecting the broader elderly population. The issue is far from simple, particularly considering the negative impact on youth employment. According to the Bank of Korea, since 2016, for every one additional elderly worker, the number of young workers decreased by up to 1.5. An analysis by the Korea Labor Institute also found that youth employment fell 12% in the seven years since the mandatory retirement age of 60 was implemented.
The retirement age extension is among the thorniest of issues, where generational interests clash sharply. Clinging solely to the ruling party's framework of a "phased statutory retirement age extension" cannot deliver a fundamental solution. A comprehensive examination is needed that accounts for complex factors including intergenerational employment allocation, the dual structure of the labor market, corporate burden, and industrial competitiveness. Any approach that deepens generational conflict and merely adds to the burden on businesses is not a sustainable solution. A rational compensation system based on job roles and performance should be established first, and companies should be allowed to choose their own retirement age extension methods to ease the burden. Above all, it is crucial to first develop measures that ensure coexistence with the younger generation, many of whom remain in a state of "resting" — unable even to enter the labor market. Extending the retirement age is not simply an elderly employment measure but a critical issue of redesigning the entire labor market structure. The optimal alternative is to create an employment environment where more people can work longer through wage and job redesign, as exemplified by post-retirement rehiring.