By Kang Seung-woo
Korean employees want to remain in their jobs until around the age of 64, a poll by a local online recruitment site said Thursday.
But they expect retirement to come earlier than they would like.
In addition, the study showed they believe their companies need to extend the retirement age.
In Korea, there is no legal retirement age and each firm makes a decision based on its own regulations.
According to Job Korea, which surveyed a total of 1,363 office workers on the desirable age for retirement, men said they would like to work until they are 64, while women favored 64.2.
By age, those in their 20s averaged 63.8, their 30s 64.4, 40s 64.1 and 50s 63.9.
However, the employees believe that they will have to leave their jobs earlier, as men said the age they are likely to remain in employment is 61.6, while women expected to work until 58.
The poll also said that 89 percent of the respondents want to lengthen the retirement age, with only 11 percent satisfied with the current retirement age.
Among supporters for the extension, 72.1 percent said that they can still work at their current level, while 44.4 percent said they are concerned about money after retirement.
They also said that companies need to maintain skilled workers. Most of those surveyed didn’t have specific plans about what to do after they leave their current jobs.
Half of the opponents to the extension of the retirement age said that it will prevent firms from hiring new staff. They also said that they will not be assured of jobs despite the extension and there are worries over counter-productivity.
Japan is currently seeking to increase the legal retirement age from 60 to 65.
Meanwhile, Korea is aging at a fast pace with people over 65 accounting for 11.3 percent of all its citizens, or 5.42 million, last year, according to Statistics Korea. This represents a surge of 24.3 percent, or 1.06 million, from 2005, when 9.3 percent of the population was classified as senior citizens.
The country became an aging society in 2000 when more than 7 percent of the population was over 65, and is expected to become an aged society in 2018 and a super-aged society in 2026. An aged society refers to more than 14 percent of the population being over 65, and a super-aged society has at least 20 percent of its people classified as senior citizens.