KCTU issues statement opposing Democratic Party's mediation proposal, saying gradual increase through 2037 leaves hundreds of thousands of workers without income

Yang Gyeong-su, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions [Yonhap]
Yang Gyeong-su, chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions [Yonhap]

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions urged the government Thursday to immediately raise the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65, calling a proposed phased approach "tantamount to abandoning hundreds of thousands of workers to an income gap."

In a statement released Thursday, the KCTU said "the core of any retirement age extension must be closing the income gap between the national pension eligibility age and the legal retirement age," adding that tying the effective date directly to the pension eligibility age is "the bare minimum requirement."

The Democratic Party of Korea's special committee on retirement age extension has been considering a mediation proposal that would raise the mandatory retirement age to 61 in 2029, then increase it by one year every two years until reaching 65 in 2037.

On this, the KCTU said the income gap "is not a future problem — it is happening right now." The confederation noted that the national pension eligibility age is already being raised incrementally to between 63 and 65, meaning workers born in 1964 face a three-year income gap after retiring at 60 before they can begin collecting their pension at 63.

The KCTU then criticized the Democratic Party's proposal, saying that even if the retirement age rises to 61 in 2029, workers born in 1966 — who begin receiving their pension at 64 — would still face a three-year income gap. "Setting 2037 as the completion date for the legal reform is no different from leaving hundreds of thousands of workers stranded on the edge of an income cliff in the meantime," the KCTU said.

The confederation also raised concerns about wage and employment provisions in the Democratic Party's proposal. It argued that allowing changes to work rules that disadvantage employees could become "a tool to roll back working conditions without workers' consent," and that workers could face further hardship by returning to employment at reduced wages.

The KCTU went on to say that "extending the retirement age is not simply a matter of securing retirement income — it is a matter of the right to keep working without wage cuts, without job insecurity, and without an income gap," urging immediate implementation to close that gap.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's special committee on retirement age extension plans to release its final mediation proposal as early as the end of this month, following consultations with labor and business groups. Significant differences remain between the two sides, and further friction is expected as discussions continue.


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