More than one-third of Korean wage workers over the age of 55 earn a monthly income lower than that of a full-time employee on minimum wage, a report showed Sunday.
The report, released by the state-funded Korea Labor Institute, analyzed the employment conditions of low-income senior workers, including their job status and paths to employment. The minimum wage in 2025 is set at 10,030 won ($6.83) per hour, which for a full-time worker, translates to a monthly income of 2,096,270 won.
In 2023, about 33 percent of workers aged 55 and older were earning less than that amount per month, which is more than 10 percentage points above the all-age average of 20.2 percent.
In both the overall workforce and among senior wage earners, the proportion of low-income female workers was double that of their male counterparts.
“Given South Korea’s senior income guarantee system, tailored policy support is needed to help older workers earn an adequate income in each stage of their lives,” the report said. “Extending the duration of work in primary jobs is the most effective way to reduce income loss, though rehiring by the same employer also helps mitigate income decline better than reemployment in a different job.”
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
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