{"id":2201187,"date":"2023-05-29T19:40:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T10:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2201187"},"modified":"2023-05-31T15:03:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T06:03:09","slug":"working-through-retirement-how-south-koreas-pension-system-is-failing-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/05\/working-through-retirement-how-south-koreas-pension-system-is-failing-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Working through retirement: How South Korea\u2019s pension system is failing seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"
At 66, Kim Sook-hyang applies her energy daily to cleaning an apartment complex in Gangnam, sparing only Sundays. For seven hours a day, her labor earns her $600 per month, a grueling feat for her aging frame. Yet she has to keep working.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know I\u2019d still have to work at this age,\u201d Kim told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Once a nursing assistant at a university hospital, Kim retired at 58 after almost 30 years of diligent service, expecting a peaceful retirement supported by her pension. Now living solo, she finds herself in the unenviable position of adding to her modest $700 monthly pension from the university \u2014 a sum deemed generous compared to the stipends of other Korean retirees.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a burden to my child. I\u2019m determined to work as long as I can to support myself,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Kim is not an isolated case. A growing number of South Korea\u2019s seniors are being thrust into the gig economy, seeking supplemental income to bridge the gap in their finances as the pension system struggles to support the nation\u2019s rapidly aging population.<\/span><\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s elderly poverty rate alarmingly ranks the highest among the nations in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) \u2014 standing at <\/span>43.4%<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n This economic distress often manifests in severe psychological strain, leading to high depression and suicide rates among the elderly. South Korea\u2019s <\/span>elderly suicide rate<\/span><\/a>, at 46.6 per 100,000 people, is nearly three times higher than the OECD\u2019s average rate of 17.2.<\/span><\/p>\n For Song Young-cheol, 69, these systemic issues have led him to reassess his worth and purpose post-retirement.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was starting to understand why people say you should just die when you\u2019re old,\u201d Song told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>. \u201cWith no money in my pocket and nowhere to belong, I started to contemplate the meaning of my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n His declining health has narrowed his job options. His current employment involves delivering credit cards, for which he earns a dollar per delivery. This provides him with a modest monthly income of approximately $300.<\/span><\/p>\n