The Key to Raising the Retirement Age Should Be Not "How Long" but "How" [Lee Dong-su's Generational Diagnosis (January 2026)]

As it is a problem that cannot be avoided, raising the retirement age is likely to emerge as a critical issue this year. Concerns have also been raised that, like the National Pension reform passed by the plenary session of the National Assembly last March, it could trigger intergenerational conflict.

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The younger generation is already expressing grave concern about the fiscal sustainability of the National Pension and national health insurance. Given the declining working-age population, the utilization of older workers is unavoidable in order to reduce this burden. Everyone must work longer, and individual productivity must also be elevated. Since the younger generation shares this understanding, arriving at a social consensus on raising the retirement age is not considered to be an especially difficult matter.

However, there is a prerequisite for raising the retirement age in a manner that the younger generation can also endorse: wage structure reform. In Korea, many companies employ a seniority-based wage system. Wages rise in proportion to accumulated years of service.

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The forms of labor are also becoming increasingly diverse. However, Korea's labor market remains highly rigid. Dismissal is difficult, and revising employment rules is equally challenging. In this environment, simply raising the retirement age without accompanying reforms would lead companies to seek alternative routes such as fixed-term contracts, subcontracting, and freelancing, which would in turn further widen disparities in the labor market.

There appears to be broad agreement with the argument that "people must work longer." However, it would be problematic if this were to degenerate into "a league of their own" confined to large corporations and public institutions. Raising the retirement age should provide the right to work without discrimination at age 65 or beyond; it must not become a mechanism for entrenching incumbent workers. It is hoped that measures to resolve the dual structure of the labor market will be presented as an integral part of the discussions on raising the retirement age.

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