Small Workplaces Receiving Senior Retention Subsidy Drop 33% in Three Years

Workplaces receiving Korea’s senior continued-employment subsidy fell 25% from 3,028 in 2022 to 2,271 last year, while payments declined 9.5% from 22.63bn won to 20.49bn won. Among workplaces with fewer than 50 staff, recipients dropped 32.8% from 2,400 to 1,613 and supported workers fell 25.6% to 3,192, while the number supported at larger workplaces rose 21.7%. Lawmaker Park Hae-chul said workers at small firms are more exposed to the income gap before pension eligibility and called for stronger differentiated support.