Last year, over 1,000 job postings were identified as containing illegal age restrictions like “only 20 to 30-year-olds” or “under 40 preferred.” Despite laws preventing age discrimination, these phrases are especially easy to see in job postings where employers prefer younger workers. Young workers are still preferred in physically demanding businesses such as cafés, restaurants, and warehouses. This is becoming a bigger problem as youth unemployment rises and the population ages.
By law, businesses in South Korea cannot choose who to hire based on age unless they have a specific reason. Nevertheless, a 2023 survey by HR Tech company Incruit found that many companies still consider age an important factor in hiring. The average age limit for new hires is about 33.5 years for men and 31.6 years for women. This means that once people reach this age, finding a full-time job becomes much harder, especially for those without prior work experience.
Young people who struggle to find full-time employment often end up in part-time jobs. Meanwhile, some older workers are rehired by their former employers after retirement. The Ministry of Employment and Labor found that 36% of companies with retirement ages also have programs to re-hire retired workers. This creates a situation where older, more experienced workers compete for jobs, with younger people just entering the job market. Since many companies prefer candidates with experience, younger people lose out on valuable opportunities to be hired. There is also a vicious cycle where young unemployed people push retired workers out of part-time jobs.
Job platforms like Albamon and JOBKOREA must enforce stricter rules about illegal job postings to address this issue. Companies should also stop focusing so much on age and instead look at a person’s skills and potential. Our society must value talent over age to ensure a diverse workforce and stimulate innovation. Shifting this mindset will be crucial for creating a fairer job market where everyone, young or old, has an equal shot at getting hired and moving up in their career
