By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Sixty-two-year-old Lim Chae-duk, despite his age, is among the rank-and-file at work. That's because after retiring from his first career, the ambitious and still-going-strong senior decided to start all over again.
``Enjoying my free time lasted only a few months. After that, I was anxious to be out in the workforce again,'' said Lim, who was hired by Lotte Mart two years ago as a ``silver worker.''
He said his 30 years of professional experience in the textile industry helped him quickly settle into his new job.
``Customer service, decision-making and time management are all skills that I've honed throughout my career,'' said Kim, who is among some 100 elderly workers Lotte Mart recruited in 2005 to ease senior unemployment. About 120,000 people aged over 50 are unemployed, according to 2007 National Statistical Office data.
The discount chain saw good results, as it found that these experienced men and women were professionally savvy in getting work done and dealing with customers. And this triggered others to open their doors a bit wider.
Homeplus, another hypermarket chain, said last week that it will hire 200 silver workers starting mid-May for its outlets nationwide.
``Age alone shouldn't keep qualified workers from the job front,'' said a Homeplus spokeswoman, adding that a pilot program earlier this year saw better-than-expected results from consumers and managers. ``Hopefully, other firms will make similar attempts to help seniors return to the workforce.''
Park Sung-joon, a research fellow at the Korea Economic Research Institute, says this may slowly happen in some industries, but seniors shouldn't count on a general improvement.
``As long as the youth unemployment rate hovers in the 7 percent range, employers won't easily turn to the graying generation,'' said Park, adding, however, that 3D (dirty, dangerous and difficult) jobs may be left open.
He said the government could actively push employers to hire the elderly, but explained that it will take time for the general culture to catch up with other countries such as the U.S. and Japan.
Japan, the fastest aging nation in the world, has encouraged private companies to set the retirement age to 70, as more recruitment agencies for those aged 60 or over are starting up with the growing demand for highly-skilled workers.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' data said the number of American workers older than 50 is set to increase 34 percent by 2012, which triggered similar action plans there. Non-profit groups like the American Association for Retired Persons helps corporate partners to promote ``senior-hiring.''