By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter
From as early as later this year, people visiting a branch of the 24 hour-convenience store Family Mart nationwide will likely see senior citizens working as cashiers or stock managers.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the franchise to support the company's hiring of a total of 1,500 senior citizen staff by 2014. This year, they will start with 60.
Part timer-hopefuls need to apply for the positions through the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged (KORDI) website (www.kordi.or.kr) by July 2. After a CV screening and interviews, Family Mart management is expected to pick the finalists.
The selected ones will undergo a one month-internship and be placed at some of the 4,600 branches nationwide.
The ministry will finance their training expenses and Family Mart headquarters will guarantee their job security for at least two months. The authorities are planning to expand the program to other retail-giants, hoping to boost senior citizen job creation nationwide.
The ministry assumes that if 1,500 seniors participate in moneymaking activities it could lessen medical costs by up to 283 million won ($275,000) a year. "Working reduces their depression and lethargy.
It also gives them extra pocket money that could lift their spirits," a ministry official said.
Japanese supermarket franchise Maruetsu and British retail giant TESCO and many other retailers have reported successful cases of hiring older staff.
In Korea, too, may companies have been hiring senior citizens to share the "social responsibility." Gasoline stations welcome "senior part-timers" because they tend to stay late and do not complain too much. Other popular jobs are janitors for apartments and cultural heritage sites, and other buildings.
McDonalds, KFC, Lotteria and other franchise fast food restaurants have long hired senior citizens as part of their staff. They clean floors, tidy up the tables and are cashiers like ordinary part-timers.
"We prohibit any discrimination in hiring an employee and that's why we see so many senior staff at the stores. Also, we have flexibile working hours, which fits older generations in their search for suitable jobs," said Yoo Ji-eun, spokeswoman for McDonalds, seniors account for 5 percent of its part timers.
"Many employers like senior citizens because they are usually quite diligent and take pride in what they do. They don't do it for money. Most of them are searching for something to do and a way to spend time so the wage isn't really a big issue. That's a huge attraction for employers," KORDI official Kang Ik-gu said.