Kim Moon-soo: "Uniform Retirement Age Extension Weakens Employment Rate"
Proposes Korean-Style Youth Employment Support Guarantee System
55 People Power Party Lawmakers Attend Debate
Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, visited the National Assembly on the 19th and emphasized that a uniform retirement age extension system without distinction by industry could cause a deepening dual structure in the labor market, intergenerational conflicts, and management burdens in an aging and low birthrate society. He stressed that discussions on retirement age extension should be linked with wage system reforms.
Minister Kim made these remarks during his keynote speech at the "2030 and Middle-aged Win-Win Labor Reform Grand Debate," hosted by Na Kyung-won and Woo Jae-joon, members of the People Power Party, at the National Assembly Members' Office Building that morning. He pointed out that in a situation where the extension of retirement age for high-wage middle-aged and older workers increases the burden on companies, a uniform retirement age extension could worsen youth employment, thus necessitating institutional improvements such as reemployment after retirement and wage system reform.
Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo is attending the '2030 and Older Generations Both Win-Win Labor Reform Grand Debate' held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 19th. 2025.2.19 Photo by Kim Hyun-min
Minister Kim stated, "According to an analysis by the Korea Labor Institute based on employment insurance data from 2012 to June 2024 on employment changes in companies that extended the retirement age to 60, large companies with over 1,000 employees saw about an 11.6% decrease in youth employment due to the retirement age extension." He added, "When wages after more than 30 years of service reach three times the starting salary, extending the retirement age without reforming the wage system increases the financial burden on companies."
Na Kyung-won, who hosted the debate, also expressed agreement, saying, "A blind retirement age extension is absolutely unacceptable. It must be a smart employment extension." She added, "There is no country with a more rigid wage system than ours. A blind retirement age extension leads to corporate burdens and a cliff in youth employment."
Youth employment activation policies reminiscent of election pledges were also presented. Minister Kim explained plans to implement the "Korean-style Youth Employment Support Guarantee System," which supports employment within four months after university graduation, and to establish a cooperative system among the government, local governments, universities, and the private sector to discover "resting" youth. Opportunities for work experience in companies will be expanded to 58,000 people, and innovative training in advanced fields such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) will be expanded to 45,000 people.
At the debate, a gathering of People Power Party members eager to hear Minister Kim’s keynote speech, who is currently leading in support among next presidential candidates within the ruling party, was once again staged. Besides the hosts Na and Woo, 55 members of the People Power Party, more than half of the party’s 108 members, attended the labor reform debate. At a local autonomy constitutional amendment debate held at the National Assembly on the 12th, another presidential hopeful, Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, attended, drawing 48 People Power Party members.
On the 19th, Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, and other attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the "2030 and Middle-aged Win-Win Labor Reform Grand Debate" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. 2025.2.19 Photo by Kim Hyun-min
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