[Opinion] “38th Parallel”

Now that I think of it, Oryukdo -a Korean word whose pronunciation “o-ryuk” means “five and six,” sarcastically referring to the retirement age of 56, also “do” meaning thief- and Saojong -also a Korean word whose pronunciation “sa-o” means “four and five” referring to the retirement age of 45, also “jong” meaning full- were all happy. It feels like yesterday when we used to make a bitter smile saying that the age of 45 is the “full” year to retire and that one who stays in office until the age of 56 is a “thief.” Now it is time for “38th Parallel” (Sam-pal-son), accepting the retirement “willingly” (from ‘son’ meaning willingly) at the age of 38. At the cold wind of restructuring at public companies, “Honorary retirement in 30s” phenomenon is taking in. According to research by the Ministry of Labor, there were only four out of 1,000 salary workers who have met their age limit for retirement last year. Completing the full year before retiring is as rare as becoming the CEO in a corporation. Hearts fail upon hearing the news of reorganization or restructuring anywhere, and some cannot sleep a wink after hearing, “Why are you like this these days?”, from a boss suffering from “Personnel Reduction Syndrome.”

The reason for the increased number of “38th Parallel” derives from the westernized personnel system of the corporation, according to the industries. In the old days, the objects of restructuring were old employees. Now the standard is numeral efficiency rating. Regardless of the age, the outcome is the standard to decide with the adaptation of “rank limit.” Young employees have passed the college entrance exam that stirs up the whole country, have made it through the young unemployment that worries the whole country, and now have to worry about the early retirement on the first day of sitting at the desk of a corporate job. However, the “38th parallel” is not all shock and terror. Many consider this as a better chance to receive the discharge allowance when the corporation can offer and to start a new life when one is young enough to do so.

“38th Parallel” is not a phenomenon just in Korea. Lifetime workplace is near extinction worldwide. It is due to the structural changes such as globalization and technology shift. Manufacturing companies move beyond the borderlines in search of countries where labor costs are the lowest and where it is easy to run a corporation. Computer and internet quickly replaced the work previously done by humans. Technological innovation enhances productivity and decreases the need for manpower. Even if the economy gets better, it is difficult to expect to have lower unemployment rate in the manufacturing sector. As the number of knowledge workers with yearly salary of hundreds of million won in the growing business increase, the low wage laborers’ living is getting tougher in the declining business. Labor market is another bipolar system.

The problem of “wealth gaining wealth and poverty gaining poverty of human capital” cannot be resolved by some workers’ protests outside on the street. If the corporations are closing their factories in Korea in fear of the labor union, it is harmful to all of us. In a labor market which is more flexible than ever, “branding” oneself is the only way to survive. Continuous re-education and networking will furbish oneself always ready for a new job. Now I only hope for the government’s efforts to create a “country where it is easy to run a corporation.”

Kim Soon-duk, Editorial Writer, yuri@donga.com