earticle

영어

Korea is moving fast towards one of the highest aging societies in the world. This phenomena has been one of the critical global issues, and developed countries have already been implementing employment policies for it. In the meanwhile, the policies has been treated insignificant in Korea. Employment Promotion for the aged Act seems nominal in Korea, as though impulsive legislation force which can make older people participate more in economic activities, in order to realize 'happy society for aged people.' Many of Korean workers retire in the mid 50's.
According to the survey of Ministry of Labor in 2005, the average retirement age of Korean workers is 56.8. And the Korea National Statistics Office shows that the average retire age of workers in the major industry is 54, and these figures are 5 to 7 years shorter than the one of EU and OECD. The main cause is the not-strong law force in Korea. Korean government needs to promote and protect employment of aged people, and strong drive to the related legislation and policy is indispensible. Therefore, Employment Promotion for the aged Act needs to be amended quickly. This law should have the legal force which the current law do not have. Next, National Labor Relations Commission(NLRC) should be in charge of the remedy process against discrimination, not the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC). This makes more sense because NLRC has the specialty in terms of labor relations. NHRC has been responsible for this matter for there has been no provisions about remedy process due to the age discrimination since. Lastly, training for enhancing professional competence and job placement need to be reinforced. Looking at the actual condition and circumstance of the aged people, they become unemployed because they fail to find appropriate jobs even if they mentally and physically fine. This is something Korean government needs to cope with. This study, therefore, examines the related legislations and compares it with the one of other countries, and presents possible solutions.