At 10 am on the 29th. Mr. Kim (80), whom I met at a pharmacy in Myeong-dong, Seoul, was skillfully serving the flock of customers. He has been running a pharmacy for 47 years, starting in 1976. When asked how long he plans to work, he showed his muscular forearms. Mr. Kim said, “I am still healthy enough to go to the gym,” and added, “I think I will be able to (run a pharmacy) for another five years.”

As we have passed the retirement age of 60 set by society, the number of professionals who do not retire and work actively even in their 70s and 80s is increasing. Among the elderly, like Mr. Kim, who hold professional qualifications, the number of people who continue to work after retirement age has increased significantly compared to people of the same age. Although they are in a situation where they are not restricted by retirement age, they all agree that they stay in their jobs more than anything because of the reward they feel while working.

According to the National Statistical Office on the 1st, the employment rate, which refers to the proportion of employed people among the population aged 65 or older, was 36% last year, breaking its highest level every year since 2018. The number of employed people aged 65 or older is 3.365 million, an average annual increase of 9% over the past five years. This is in contrast to the increase of only 0.9% in the number of employed across all age groups during the same period. In particular, the number of employed people aged 80 or older reached 376,000 last year, an average annual increase of 16.5% over the past five years.

The Korea Employment Research Institute analyzed that this is because many of the elderly who participate in economic activities have insufficient retirement income. However, some people do not voluntarily retire and continue to work for a living. The number of employed managers and experts aged 65 to 79 was 182 as of May, doubling compared to 10 years ago (2013). The increase is larger than the average of 1.7 times the total number of employed people in the same age group.

Mr. Lee (72), who works as a tax accountant in Seoul, said, “Even if the retirement age is 65, I still have 20 years left in my old age, which is quite a long time to stay at home.” He added, “I still have a job, so it’s good that I can spend every day without being bored at this age.” “He said. He said, “Because it is a job that requires communication with many people, I still have active human relationships, which adds vitality to my daily life.” He added, “I feel proud when people trust me and entrust me with work because of the relationships I have formed.”

Mr. Seo (85), who ran an otolaryngology clinic in Seoul for 50 years until three years ago, said, “The reason I was motivated to practice medicine until I was over 80 was because of the reward I felt from my work. “I wanted to postpone my retirement as much as possible because I was attracted to the patients I met through free medical care volunteer work,” he said.

They said that they only consider retirement when they feel their physical limitations. Mr. Seo explained, “As I turned 80, it was physically difficult to sit in the clinic all day and receive treatment, so I quit (the clinic).” Mr. Lee, a tax accountant, also said, “Because tax-related laws are constantly changing, I will quit when I feel that I can no longer update my knowledge as a professional안전놀이터. I think it is still too early to retire in my early 70s.”

General companies are also expanding their retiree re-employment systems. The position is that the know-how of retirees is helpful in running the company. Since 2019, Daegu Bank has introduced the ‘Corporate Finance Sales Specialist ( PRM )’ system to rehire retired veteran bankers. There are a total of 71 PRM members currently working , and the total amount of loans they have obtained from 2019 to present amounts to 2.3 trillion won. A Daegu Bank official said, “Many of the people retiring as branch managers already have excellent sales skills. If we rehire these people, we have the advantage of being able to keep blue-chip companies as customers without losing them.”

Starting in 2019, Hyundai Motor Company will operate a ‘senior commission system (skilled re-employment system)’ for retired factory production workers. Through this system, employees with a retirement age of 60 can work until the age of 61. A Hyundai Motor official said, “More than 2,000 people retire at retirement age every year, and we hope to have a nearly 100% senior contract system. It’s good for employees because they can work more, and the company can hire highly skilled retirees at reduced costs, so we plan to continue this in the future.” He said.

KT is also operating a ‘Senior Consultant’ system that re-appoints 10% of those scheduled to retire at retirement age every quarter. The maximum employment period is two years, and selection is made taking into account job expertise, work performance, and personnel evaluation during employment. KTAn official said, “Network engineers are people who have know-how in network operations such as field management and maintenance,” and added, “Rehiring them will help the company as there will be no gaps in their work.”