DP Extends Retirement Age Talks by 6 Months... Federation of Korean Trade Unions Calls It "Irresponsible Stalling"

Second Full Meeting of Special Committee on Retirement Age Extension Held
So Byunghoon: "Building Consensus Through Thorough Discussion"
Focus on Win-Win Solutions for Generational and Labor-Management Coexistence
Discussion of Solidarity Fund for Youth Employment
Labor Unions Oppose Extension of Committee Activities
Federation of Korean Trade Unions Walks Out During Meeting
Labor Groups: "Cannot Agree to Legislation After Local Elections"

The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to extend discussions on raising the statutory retirement age to 65, which were left unresolved last year, for another six months and to quickly reach a consensus. The party believes that postponing the issue of extending the retirement age, amid the rapid transition to a super-aged society and swift changes in demographic structure, could negatively impact people's livelihoods and the national economy.

On the morning of January 23, at 10:00 a.m., the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Extending the Retirement Age held its first full meeting of the year at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building. The meeting included labor and management organizations such as the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Youth Union, as well as the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Last year, the Democratic Party formed the special committee on retirement age extension together with labor and management organizations, but due to differences in opinion among the organizations, no retirement age extension bill was introduced before year-end. The committee has therefore decided to extend its activities.

Committee Chairperson So Byunghoon stated, "The public sees extending the retirement age as an inevitable task of our times, but in reality, we have not been able to narrow our differences. As chairperson, I apologize to the public," adding, "We will produce the necessary results without delay. Through detailed and thorough discussions, we will reach a well-supported conclusion." Yoo Dongsoo, Senior Deputy Director of Economic Policy at the Democratic Party Policy Committee, said, "We must focus on solutions that allow generations, labor, and management to coexist. We will listen to the opinions of all groups."

Kim Jooyoung, the committee secretary, told reporters after the meeting, "We have decided to bring in additional committee members to discuss the extension of the retirement age and youth issues in greater depth," adding, "We will extend discussions for about six months starting in February. We need to gather more opinions, but after these discussions, legislation should not be particularly difficult."

The intention is to draft a bill through various procedures for gathering opinions, including industry-specific labor-management meetings, public hearings on labor market responses to changes in industrial structure, and legislation to protect workers.

At the meeting, the Youth Task Force under the Special Committee on Retirement Age Extension presented four alternative measures for young people concerned that extending the retirement age would further steepen the employment cliff: establishing a youth solidarity fund, mandating hiring incentives, improving job quality and support systems for young people entering the job market, and updating employment indicators to reflect low birth rates and population decline.

In particular, the Youth Task Force emphasized that stable, dedicated funding is essential for implementing employment measures continuously and on a large scale, beyond the debate on raising the retirement age. Therefore, they proposed creating a youth solidarity fund using a variety of resources, such as government funds, labor-management contributions from companies with excess profits and high performance bonuses, and contingent gains from ordinary wage lawsuit rulings. This fund would be used for youth job training, supporting youth hiring at small and medium-sized enterprises, and providing job search allowances for young people in vulnerable employment situations.

Regarding the mandatory hiring incentives, for the public sector, proposals included extending the validity period of the "mandatory youth employment system," setting aside separate quotas to offset reduced hiring due to retirement age extension, and, in the private sector, introducing a youth hiring target system and providing generational coexistence employment subsidies to companies that maintain or increase youth employment after the retirement age is extended.

Bong Geonwoo, Chairperson of the Democratic Party's National University Student Committee and a member of the Youth Task Force, stated in the report, "The policy goal must be to expand the total number of opportunities for young people and to guarantee employment for the middle-aged and older generations, so that young people can be satisfied," adding, "To ensure that utilizing the experience of older workers does not conflict with new youth entrants, job redesign and role differentiation must proceed in parallel."

Yonhap News Agency

However, there was a divergence of views between labor organizations and the special committee regarding the timing of the retirement age extension legislation. Ryu Kiseop, Secretary General of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, and Han Seonggyu, Vice Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, both stressed in their opening remarks that the legislation should be passed within the first half of the year.

However, when consensus was reached to extend the discussions for six months, Secretary General Ryu left the meeting in protest. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions issued a statement saying, "There are plans to push legislative discussions only after the local elections. We cannot accept this."

The statement continued, "Labor and management have had sufficient time for discussions, but neither the ruling Democratic Party nor the government has produced any countermeasures. Suddenly raising youth employment issues now to extend discussions until June and, in effect, only considering legislation in the second half of the year is nothing more than irresponsible stalling."

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions also issued a statement, saying, "The special committee, launched in April last year, was originally established with the goal of passing legislation during the regular session of the National Assembly. However, the Democratic Party delayed legislation on the pretext of 'failure to reach a labor-management agreement,' ultimately letting the year pass, and is now once again mentioning legislation in the second half of 2026. This is an act of overturning both the President's campaign promise and the National Assembly's official commitment."