The Democratic Party of Korea is accelerating discussions on extending the retirement age, ramping up dialogue with the labor community. Labor groups argued that the retirement age should be raised to 65 in line with the pension eligibility age.
The Democratic Party's Special Committee on Retirement Age Extension for Recovery and Growth held a roundtable on Wednesday at the National Assembly with frontline workers from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), centered on legislating the retirement age extension. "Extending the retirement age is a task that can no longer be postponed," Special Committee Chairman So Byung-hoon said. "We will fully reflect the concerns of the labor community and responsibly prepare realistic solutions."
The KCTU argued that the statutory retirement age should be gradually extended to 65, tied to the timing of public pension payouts. An income gap is emerging because the current statutory retirement age does not align with the pension eligibility age, a problem that should be resolved in sequence, the group said. Labor groups also called for concentrated government support to stabilize employment at small and medium-sized enterprises, and for wages and working conditions to be determined through autonomous labor-management negotiations.
With Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon recently stating that a conclusion on the retirement age extension debate must be reached within the first half of this year, the Democratic Party is moving quickly to gather views. The party plans to hold a series of field roundtables, starting with the labor community. On the 30th, it will meet with major companies including Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and SK, as well as economic organizations such as the Korea Enterprises Federation.
