Half of the Elderly Can't Even Earn 1 Million Won... Will There Be Fewer Places for the 'Older' Elderly?

44.6% of Household Heads Aged 65+ Earn Less Than 1 Million KRW Monthly
Senior Economic Activity Participation Rate Tops OECD...Working Conditions Poor
61,000 Public Senior Jobs Cut
About 90% Are Aged 70+...Concerns Over Job Changes and Difficulties

On the afternoon of June 21, at Hwaseong Haenggung Square in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, elderly people are looking at the job information board during the "11th Suwon City Senior Job Fair." [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Among OECD member countries, South Korea ranks first in the number of 'working elderly,' but nearly half of these elderly workers earn less than 1 million KRW in average monthly labor income. Despite this situation, the government has announced plans to reduce 'public-type elderly jobs,' which mostly consist of older seniors, starting next year, raising concerns.

According to microdata from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey by Statistics Korea on the second quarter of this year, 44.6% of households headed by wage earners aged 65 or older had a household head’s average monthly labor income of less than 1 million KRW. Households with labor income between 1 million KRW and less than 2 million KRW accounted for 27.1%, while those earning 2 million KRW or more made up 28.2%.

South Korea has the highest elderly economic activity participation rate among OECD member countries, but the working conditions for elderly workers are analyzed to be poor. According to data from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the economic activity participation rate of Koreans aged 65 and over was 35.3% in 2020, ranking first among member countries. This figure is more than double the OECD average of 15.5%.

As aging continues, projections indicate that South Korea’s elderly dependency ratio will reach the highest level in the world in 50 years. According to Statistics Korea, the global elderly dependency ratio is expected to increase from 15.1 this year to 32.7 by 2070, while South Korea’s ratio is projected to rise from 24.6 to 100.6 during the same period.

On July 5, when the heatwave was intensifying, elderly people were waiting to receive free meals at Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Due to this situation, there are suggestions to reconsider raising the elderly age standard. The Korea Development Institute (KDI) proposed a gradual approach to increase the elderly age standard, currently set at 65, by one year every ten years starting in 2025. On the 6th, Lee Tae-seok, head of KDI’s Population Structure Response Research Team, stated in the report "Possibility and Expected Effects of Raising the Elderly Age Standard," "South Korea’s elderly dependency ratio is expected to increase faster than any other major country over the next 30 to 40 years, resulting in the highest elderly population ratio worldwide. Discussions on adjusting the elderly age standard should begin now."

Along with aging, the number of elderly employed is steadily increasing. According to the Economically Active Population Survey by Statistics Korea, as of July, the number of employed persons aged 65 and over was 3.45 million, a 9.5% increase compared to the same month last year. Compared to July 2017, this number has increased by 50%.

While the number of working elderly is rising, analyses indicate that the quality of jobs is declining. The government announced in next year’s budget plan that it will reduce public-type jobs by 61,000 and increase private-type jobs by 38,000. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the total job budget for next year is 30 trillion KRW, down 1.5 trillion KRW (4.9%) from this year’s record-high main budget of 31.5 trillion KRW.

The government allocated 547,000 public-type elderly jobs for next year, reducing them by 61,000. Public-type jobs target seniors aged 60 to 65 and older and include roles such as assisting with elementary school students’ safe commute, monitoring no-smoking zones, and environmental maintenance. These jobs typically involve about 30 hours of work per month and pay 270,000 KRW. However, the government plans to increase private and social service-type jobs by 38,000 and expand employment incentives for employers.

However, concerns have been raised because the majority of public-type job participants are 'older' seniors. If public-type jobs are reduced, those who rely on such work for their livelihood may face unemployment risks. According to the "2020 Elderly Job and Social Activity Support Project Statistical Trends" published by the Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute, about 90% of public-type elderly job participants are aged 70 or older, and most have only completed elementary school. Since these older seniors lack certified social experience, it may be difficult for them to transition to other jobs through vocational training.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.