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Over 60 percent of businesses prefer rehiring former employees: Poll

Published: 31 Aug. 2025, 15:59

Job seekers fill out job application forms on Oct. 17, 2024, at Dasom Hall in Busan. [YONHAP]

Korean businesses prefer rehiring retired employees over extending their retirement age, a survey showed on Sunday, with wage burdens cited as the biggest obstacle to hiring senior workers.

According to the survey conducted by the Korea Enterprises Association, 61 percent of companies said they prefer reemployment as the method of hiring senior workers aged 60 and above, far outpacing 32.7 percent that favored extending the retirement age.

The survey was conducted on 1,136 businesses with at least 30 employees.

The remaining 6.3 percent called for abolishing the mandatory retirement age.

Of the businesses that preferred reemployment, 50 percent said the reasonable salary for reemployed senior workers should be around 70 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement wage.

"The excessively high wages set by the seniority-based pay system, along with the rigid employment structure that makes it difficult to dismiss workers once hired, are considered hurdles for companies in utilizing the senior workforce," the association said.

"There needs to be effective measures, such as easing paycheck burdens, to help businesses use senior workers more readily," it added.

Yonhap