KDI-BOK Joint Symposium
「Poverty and Labor in a Super-Aged Society: Exploring Policy Directions」

• On May 15, 2025, KDI hosted a joint symposium with the Bank of Korea (BOK) under the theme ‘Poverty and Labor in a Super-Aged Society: Exploring Policy Directions’at the KDI Conference Hall in Sejong City. The symposium aimed to assess the current state of elderly poverty and the senior labor market amid Korea’s transition into a super-aged society and to explore effective policy responses.  

  

  
  In his opening remarks, Dongchul Cho, President of KDI, stated that “the rapid transition to a super-aged society poses fundamental challenges across all areas of society,” and expressed his hope that the symposium would serve as a milestone in setting policy directions for the future.  He emphasized that “  in addressing elderly poverty, it would be reasonable to shift the income criteria of the current Basic Pension scheme to a standard based on the national median income. For senior employment, policy efforts should first focus on mitigating the early retirement structure through reemployment programs after retirement. The statutory retirement age should be gradually extended in connection with reforms to the dual labor market.” 
  
  Chang-yong Rhee, Governor of the Bank of Korea, noted in his welcoming address that “although many elderly individuals are classified as poor based on disposable income, approximately 1.22 million people—or about 37% of the elderly poor as of 2021—could escape poverty if they could monetize their assets into pensions." He added, "Helping these individuals liquidate their assets to support themselves would be a desirable policy direction."
   

  

  
  Session 1: Policy Directions for Reducing Elderly Poverty
  
  Seunghee Lee, a Fellow at KDI,pointed out that while Korea’s elderly poverty rate is declining in trend, it remains the highest among OECD countries. Even when evaluating assets as income, elderly poverty remains severe. He emphasized that the disparity in poverty rates across birth cohorts is significant, with higher poverty concentrated among those born before the 1950s. Thus, he proposed changing the Basic Pension eligibility criteria to a proportion of the median income to provide more targeted support for the most vulnerable elderly populations.  
  
  In Do Hwang, Head of the Financial & Monetary Economic Studies Team at the BOK,  reported that there is substantial potential demand among the elderly for reverse mortgages and private annuity mortgages. He argued that revitalizing the housing pension system could boost consumption and help alleviate elderly poverty, thereby benefiting the overall economy. However, he cautioned that the extent of these positive effects would depend on how much of the potential demand translates into actual participation. Therefore, he stressed the need to improve the system to facilitate actual enrollments and to ease regulations on private reverse mortgages so they can play a complementary role.  
   

  

  
  Session 2: Coping Strategies for Population Aging
  
  Joseph Han, a Fellow at KDI,explained that while population aging due to increased life expectancy in a super-aged society may offer new economic opportunities, the senior labor market remains tied to outdated workforce structures. He emphasized the need to enhance both wage flexibility and job security—for example, through reforming the seniority-based wage system and promoting job stability for long-term employees—as part of efforts to better utilize the aging workforce.
  
  Lee Jae-ho, Deputy Director of the Macroeconomic Analysis Team at the BOK’s Research Department,warned that the large-scale retirement of the baby boomer generation would rapidly increase the number of elderly self-employed individuals. He expressed concern that the elderly self-employed, who tend to have low profitability and high debt ratios, are economically vulnerable and may pose a macroeconomic burden. He explained that retirees often choose self-employment over wage work because they perceive it offers greater opportunities for continued employment. Therefore, he emphasized the need to strengthen reemployment programs, promote job matching between retirees and regional SMEs, and create an environment in which elderly individuals can work longer and more stably in wage jobs.
  
  ▶  Presentation Materials of the KDI-BOK Joint Symposium [Click here]

  ▶  Watch the Replay on YouTube