Employees at major South Korean corporation “A” who reach their 50s without being promoted to executives or team leaders are referred to as “elders.” This term is a play on the word “leader,” which denotes executives or team leaders. Lee, a 46-year-old team leader at this company, commented, “A decade ago, senior employees who missed out on promotions would retire early and open convenience stores, chicken shops, or start supply businesses, seeking a ‘second life.’ Nowadays, there’s a trend of sticking it out until retirement.”
The way elders are treated varies by job category. In office departments, leaders in their late 40s often assign simple tasks, such as reviewing accounting documents, to elders as a way of adapting to new trends. In contrast, in production departments where the hierarchy is stricter, elders are often grouped into separate teams to handle quality inspections, minimizing uncomfortable situations.
In South Korea, more workers in their 50s are opting to remain within their companies rather than venturing into self-employment as they approach retirement. Unlike the first-generation baby boomers (born 1955-1963) who would leave to open small businesses, the second-generation baby boomers (born 1964-1974) are learning from their predecessors’ experiences outside the company and choosing to continue their corporate careers under younger supervisors.
According to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the average tenure of regular wage workers in South Korea was 98 months last year, the longest since records began in 2004. This is a 10-month increase from 88 months in 2015, when the first-generation baby boomers started retiring. The rise in tenure seems to correlate with a decrease in entrepreneurship among those in their 50s. Last year, 262,877 people in their 50s started new businesses, marking a decline for three consecutive years and the lowest number since 2016 (28,9138). The proportion of 50-something entrepreneurs also hit a record low at 21.2%.
Kim, a 47-year-old department head at a major IT company with 20 years of experience, said, “When I meet retired seniors who have ventured into entrepreneurship, they often quote the webtoon ‘Misaeng,’ saying, ‘The company is a battlefield, but the outside world is hell,’ and discourage starting a business.” He added, “There’s a widespread belief that if even large companies struggle, how can small businesses catering to office workers succeed? This mindset is so pervasive that many in their 40s and 50s prefer to stay until retirement, even if they remain in mid-level managerial positions.”
A 50-something banker echoed, “Although it’s late in my career, staying at the bank and working hard is better than struggling to survive outside.” An employee from a major supermarket chain that recently offered early retirement said, “Even when department heads born around 1980 are promoted, those born in the 1970s who miss out on promotions tend not to quit like they used to. Many adjust to new roles, like store organization, because they have young children and feel there are no better options outside.”
The popularity of early retirement packages in the banking sector is also waning. In South Korea, banks started offering such packages to reduce physical branches in favor of mobile banking. This year, the number of employees from four major banks—KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori—who opted for early retirement in the first half of the year was 1,496, a 13.5% decrease from the same period last year.
An associate director at one of them said, “Many senior employees now believe that the steady monthly salary is better than a one-time large retirement pay.” Another 50-something team leader at a commercial bank noted, “Even though the peak wage system, which gradually reduces salaries for senior workers before retirement, cuts their pay in half, many employees persevere. With the trend of having children later in life, many 50-somethings have school-aged kids and prefer to maintain their bank positions until their children are grown.”
Many employees who don’t see a future at their current companies are opting to continue working as salaried employees at other companies. A 44-year-old HR team leader at a fashion company said, “Ten to twenty years ago, senior workers often left to start wholesale businesses or shops. Nowadays, there’s a trend of moving to smaller or new brands to pass on their knowledge while continuing their careers as employees.”
