Retirees learn new tricks

By Lee Joon-seung SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- For Park Kwang-yeol, retirement has hardly been all about kicking back and relaxing. Three years have passed since he retired from the trading arm of the South Korean conglomerate LG Group, and Park, 57, knew he had a wealth of experience and knowhow that could still be put to use. So he went back to work. Now director of the industrial plant division at Byucksan Engineering Co., Park is in a similar job as his old position at LG International Corp. "The important thing is to show your new company your knowhow and business acumen that can help push forward deals," Park said. Byucksan, a mid-sized builder with some 1,000 employees, is currently pushing to land a number of overseas projects, including one for an oil storage facility in the Maldives and another for an oil field in Iraq. "I am in charge of contacting prospective overseas partners who would work with Byucksan," Park said. "Byucksan engineers are technically proficient, but the company has limited experience in overseas projects." Despite his 30 years of prior experience at LG International, he did hint that his pay at Byucksan is substantially lower. But, Park said, he feels happy whenever he thinks about the fact that he is lending a helping hand to Byucksan as it tries to expand its business beyond local apartment projects. As in other countries, South Korea's job market is very tight, with the national unemployment rate hovering over 4 percent. The jobless rate among young people has climbed to 9 percent. Still, there is a niche job market for retirees like Park who are armed with a proven skill set. The retirement age in South Korea varies depending on the field. Most want to work past the limit but are pressured or forced out through "voluntary retirement." Based on his experience, Park encourages other retirees to seek help from the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and other expert organizations that often hold job fairs. Through them, he said, retirees may find jobs at small- and medium-size enterprises. (SMEs) In 2010, KOTRA placed 38 retirees with overseas business experience in new positions through its job matching program. So far this year, it has helped arrange job interviews for 141 others at SMEs. Most retirees who return to work are baby boomers in their 50s or older, born between 1955 and 1963. Now the number of working people in their 50s has risen to 72.31 percent, way higher than the national average of 66.5 percent, according to government figures. The latest statistics for workers in their 50s even surpasses the corresponding figure for those in their 20s, albeit slightly. A recent report by the state-funded Korea Development Institute shows that baby boomers, eager to work past retirement age, played an important role in kick-starting South Korea's rapid industrialization in the 1970s and early 1980s. One such baby boomer is Choi Sa-chul, 65, a former construction engineer who retired more than 10 years ago after over 30 years in the industry. Now he is a lumber site manager in Indonesia for a joint South Korean-Indonesian company. Like Park, Choi alluded to his lower salary compared to previous jobs, but said it nevertheless feels good to make money again. "When a former associate offered me the job, I'll admit it hurt my pride," he said. "But I decided to take it because, I thought, 'It's better than doing nothing.'" After the expense of his two children's college educations and weddings took a big chunk out of his retirement savings, he said he needed to make more money. "Many people in my generation just did not earn enough money to save for retirement," Choi said, suggesting that he would like to hold onto his new job as long as possible despite unfavorable working conditions. A survey published in the July issue of Fortune Korea magazine showed that 71.4 percent of all retirees polled cited economic difficulties as their prime concern and said that they felt burdened by rising living expenses. Of those polled, 44 percent said that money is a precondition to a happy retirement, followed by 35.2 percent who said health was most important. Min Tae-shik, 70, another working baby boomer, echoed the sentiment that he's glad to pass on his skills and expertise. The former science and technology ministry official, who retired in 2000, now works as a research fellow at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI). "It's very rewarding, though it only brings me 700,000 won (US$663) per month," he said of his new job. "The important thing is that I can work and help motivate young people in science." Min said proudly that some 15,000 students and 600 schoolteachers listen to his lectures on nuclear energy every year. He said that retirees with proven skill sets and other expertise should be given more job opportunities to help the country. The government and private companies have said they are aware of the need to find work for retirees, especially now that people are living longer and the country is aging at a rapid pace. South Korea, with a population of over 48 million, became an "aging society" in 2000 with 7.3 percent of its people over 65. It is expected to become an "aged society" in 2018. Unless the birthrate rises, experts say the country will become a so-called super-aged society, with 20 percent of the total population over 65, in 2026. Kim Chi-sung, a consultant at HR Nanum, a local corporate management firm, stressed that retirees need to lower their expectations about pay and not to compare their new jobs to their past positions. He emphasized that retirees who are job hunting should concentrate on growth potential and should not be afraid to engage in work related to sales and opening new markets. "Hiring retirees is a win-win arrangement since they find work while small- and medium-size companies that have a hard time finding good, qualified workers can gain valuable knowhow and expertise," he said. Kim pointed out that compared to the past, more companies are seeking the services of people with extensive experience in past jobs as they expand their business spheres. Representing the changing environment, the Federation of Korean Industries, firms like Samsung Electro-Mechanics and SMEs such as YG1 and Ark Shipping have all moved to hire retirees or help them find work. Samsung Electro-Mechanics said it operates a career development center to help retirees win job-related certificates and provides information about available positions. It claims more than 90 percent of retirees who were job hunting found work successfully using the program. YG1 started to hire retirees last year, while Ark Shipping decided recently to hire two workers in August. The shipping line said retirees can help handle its financing and trade matters. "Retirees are expected to offer valuable knowhow and experience that SMEs cannot acquire easily on their own," a YGI spokesperson said, adding that the company expects the new employees to help future growth.