Currently, the aging of population structure caused by the prolonged average life span and low fertility is becoming a serious problem worldwide. As the low fertility and population aging continues, economically active population is reduced and popula...
Currently, the aging of population structure caused by the prolonged average life span and low fertility is becoming a serious problem worldwide. As the low fertility and population aging continues, economically active population is reduced and population supported by the economically active population is increased. Namely, social cost including the pension, medical cost, etc required for the support of the aged may increase when economic activities of the aged are reduced and it will bring about disruption in national infrastructure.
As a countermeasure to the continuous population aging, each country and international organization are advocating productive welfare state that arranges the policy to induce the economic activities of the aged through the employment, enacts law banning the age discrimination and abolishes the retirement system, establishes wage system that is based on capacity or productivity, etc. Although Korea has enacted and carried out the Age Employment Promotion Law preparing for the aging society, efficacy of the act is unsatisfactory and employment of the aged is becoming more difficult than ever with the stagnation and internal/external environment changes in job market.
Since integrated legal system on maintenance and promotion of the aged employment does not exist, system on employment in current labor law should be looked into in various aspects. Age discrimination, retirement system, the Age Employment Promotion Law, law relevant to part-time employment, wage system, etc in law regarding the aged employment should be examined to set a long-term plan to maintain and promote the employment of the aged.
In attempt to withdraw the customs of age discrimination and secure the right to labor, retirement system should be abolished and law banning the age discrimination and regulation to protect the discharge of the aged should be included in enactment of the aged employment promotion act. Although law banning the age discrimination is currently completed of the legislation announcement, the retirement system is still carried out thus it may infringe the right to labor of the aged. Therefore, it is advisable to abolish the retirement system in principle. Moreover, the law banning the age discrimination should be enacted in that there would be no unreasonable age discrimination in all fields of the employment.
The legal system should be improved so that the aged employee would not be discharged when there is willingness and capacity for labor. Leading cases and administrative interpretation regarding the regulation on discharge in current labor standards act present the view that lowering and impediment in capacity is just cause for the discharge thus lowering in capacity presented in the aged may increase possibility for discharge of the aged. As discharge abiding the procedures is recognized as the just discharge, procedures for the discharge of the aged should also be arranged in the enactment of the aged employment promotion act.
Also, the wage that increases with the consecutive working days and age may bring about a huge burden to the enterprise and it may avoid the employment of the aged. Thus, it should be changed to wage system that is solely based on the capacity and performance. Although provisions system of the Age Employment Promotion Law is carried out to reduce the burden of enterprise in paying the aged, it is not the countermeasure that actively creates the employment of the aged.
Although support system is established so that the aged be hired with no difficulty, the vocational training through life-long learning should be arranged in the future for the aged to work for sound company. A plan to hire the aged as part-time employment, flexible in labor time, should be devised to secure proper amount of rest and labor for the aged.
As the population aging continues in the future, the society where as many the aged as possible remain in the labor market and lead economic activities will be created. Fortunately, the willingness to work for the aged in Korea is relatively high. Thus when opportunity for the labor through proper employment policy is provided, it will have positive influence on the economic growth of the nation.