Workers over 50 now surpass workers under 30, data reveals.
The proportion of younger employees at South Korea's largest companies is in decline, according to reports, as older workers now outnumber their younger counterparts for the first time.
Data from research firm Leaders Index revealed that there were 221,369 workers under the age of 30 at 124 major South Korean companies in 2024, The Korea Herald reported.
This is equivalent to just 19.8% of the workforce under 30, following a downward trend from 21.9% in 2022, and 31% in 2017.
According to the report, this is also the first time that workers under 30 have dropped below 20% since Leaders Index began tracking their numbers in 2015.
It is also the first time that the number of younger workers in major firms has been surpassed by workers aged 50 or older.
The report found that there were 224,438 employees aged 50 or older in major South Korean firms in 2024, equivalent to 20.1%. This is also an increase from 19.1% in 2022.
The Korea Bizwire reported that the generational differences were most observed in the battery industry.
According to the report, workers in the industry who are under 30 have gone down by 9.7 percentage points over the past three years, while those aged 50 or older have increased by 1.2 percentage points.
Other industries seeing a decline in younger workers include IT and electronics, The Korea Bizwire reported.
Reason for demographic shift
An official from the Leaders Index told the news outlet that the shift in demographics comes as companies have scaled back new hiring, while older employees are delaying retirement.
Park Joo-geun, head of Leaders Index, also told The Korea Herald that the drop in younger employees is because of the shrinking younger population, as well as employers' growing preference for experienced workers.
"The trend now is recruiting mid-career professionals or so-called 'experienced rookies,' which naturally raises the average employee age," Park told the news outlet.
Artificial intelligence also plays a role, according to Park, as the technology can carry out even auxiliary work.
South Korea's ageing workforce comes following a report from Human Rights Watch that flagged three age-based employment policies there as discriminatory.
"Human Rights Watch found that together, these three policies - forcing people to retire, paying them less because of their age, and moving them into lower-paid, more precarious, and often more physically demanding work — violate older people's rights to work and non-discrimination," the HRW said.
"They also reinforce negative, ageist attitudes about older people's abilities and place in society in South Korea today."
The organisation has urged the South Korean government to adopt a "comprehensive anti-discrimination law" to address ageism in workplaces.
