고령 근로자의 갱신기대권에 관한 검토

In December 2024, Korea entered a ‘super-aging society’ with the population aged 65 or older exceeding 20% of the total population, and by 2050, the elderly population will be 18.91 million, accounting for 40% of the total population. Amid these changes in the times, companies are using elderly workers through extension of the retirement age, re-employment after retirement, and fixed-term (commissioned job) labor contracts after retirement. However, the system for elderly workers in the Korean labor market has not been improved to a significant extent as the number of elderly workers is increasing quickly. A case in point is that the pension age is raised by one year every five years as much as the increased lifespan, but the poverty rate is gradually increasing due to the lack of jobs for the elderly after retirement before receiving annual payments. In the reality of labor, the re-employment of elderly workers is mainly made through re-employment after retirement and commissioned (term) labor contracts. The legal principles developed in this regard are inventory courage and renewal expectations. The right to expect for the extension of the contract for fixed-term workers requires discussion not only of elderly workers but also of all fixed-term workers, but in light of our reality of entering an ultra-aging society, it is urgent to discuss the increasing number of elderly workers. Focusing on these problems, the following review will focus on the legal principles of precedents accumulated so far, focusing on the reemployment of elderly workers. In reality, measures to extend the retirement age for elderly workers are also an important issue, but there are already sufficient social discussions and related studies on the extension of the retirement age, so this article reviews the renewal right of elderly workers. Before discussing the right to expect of elderly workers, the right to expect renewal, which was formed and developed by case law to protect fixed-term workers before the Act on the Protection of Fixed-Term and Short-Time Workers was enacted. In particular, the meaning of the law of expectation and the requirements for recognizing the right to expect when renewing or concluding a labor contract are reviewed. In fact, it can be seen that the way to prepare for an ultra-aging society is simple. You can increase the dependent population and decrease the dependent population. In other words, you can hire elderly workers. If jobs are actively guaranteed to elderly workers, the labor market can be stabilized and expanded, resulting in a positive result of reducing the cost of securing labor and social security. There are various issues regarding the employment of elderly workers, such as the retirement age system, the wage peak system, the right to expect re-employment, and the right to expect renewal of commissioned workers. Among the various issues, this article will review the issues related to the right to expect re-employment after retirement and the right to expect renewal of commissioned (term) workers. In addition, it examines whether the same legal principles can be applied to elderly workers who have retired from the retirement age.