초고령 사회와 연령차별주의에 따른 고용상 연령차별: 고령자 고용안정과 분쟁해결 방안을 중심으로

Korea will enter a super-aged society starting in 2025. Our legal system in the employment and labor sectors is evaluated to have focused on promoting and stabilizing employment of the elderly, focusing on regulating age discrimination in employment within the framework of the old “Elderly Employment Promotion Act,” establishing and expanding the statutory retirement age of 60, and providing flexibility in employment for workers aged 55 or older. However, this institutional framework in the employment and labor sectors can be said to be based on negative ageism against the elderly. It seems clear that it will become a factor that deepens structural problems as the super-aged society advances. As discussions on the employment of the elderly progress, our attention seems focused only on the possibility of extending the retirement age, and there is a lack of discussion on ageism and structural discrimination against the elderly due to the super-aged society. This attitude may rather solidify negative ageism against the elderly. In addition, it is difficult to see the discussion as sufficiently reflecting the awareness and influence of ageism inherent in our society. Therefore, in future discussions, it is necessary to establish a rationale for ① why the prohibition of age discrimination in employment and relief should be regulated within the system of the “Elderly Employment Promotion Act”; ② what is the basis for setting the retirement age at 60 and the age of 55 for the elderly based on age; ③ why the constitutionality and legitimacy of these statutory ages are not disputed even though they clearly reinforce institutional discrimination; and ④ why workers aged 65 or older are excluded from employment promotion and unemployment benefits, and so forth, despite the lack of sufficient living stability and income security for the elderly who must continue to work. This study is part of a series of studies titled “Age Discrimination in Employment due to the Super-Aging Society and Ageism.” Previous studies have identified the concept of ageism and the positive effects of ageism, and the negative effects of the so-called “old-timer” culture, youth-first employment policy, and the phenomenon of alienation of the elderly. In addition, the necessity of revising the 「Age Discrimination Prohibition Act」 as a single law, the unconstitutionality of the statutory retirement system that has been recently discussed, and the grounds for its extension were analyzed based on age discrimination, thereby seeking a direction to move forward. In this paper, the possibility of age discrimination is diagnosed in the statutory 55-year-old standard and the 65-year-old standard that is excluded from the application of employment promotion and unemployment benefits. In addition, it is confirmed whether these regulations structurally cause discrimination against the elderly in systems such as the non-regular employment period and employment insurance exclusion introduced to stabilize employment for the elderly. This study also seeks effective solutions to age discrimination in relation to disputes related to the right to renewal for the stable employment of the elderly, wage disputes, etc., and discrimination-related disputes.