Registered executives, high earners to be excluded from senior-friendly company hiring records

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday it will tighten the designation, operating standards and management framework for its senior-friendly company project starting next year, including excluding registered executives from companies' senior employment records.

The senior-friendly company project supports the launch of businesses that hire large numbers of older workers and subsidizes the cost of creating and improving their working environments.

To qualify as a senior-friendly company, a business must make matching investments of at least a set proportion of the subsidy — either directly or through another company or institution — and meet senior employment targets.

Until now, only the company's representative was excluded from senior employment records. Starting in 2027, the ministry will also exclude registered executives, other senior managers with effective control over operations, high earners, the representative's spouse and other related parties who do not align with the program's purpose.

The ministry said it had previously relaxed eligibility criteria to boost corporate participation, which led to cases where senior executives and high earners were counted toward senior employment records, and that it would now raise the bar to better reflect public expectations.

Choi Bong-geun, the ministry's director general for elderly policy, said the senior-friendly company project is designed "to stabilize the income and improve the quality of life of participating older adults, while helping participating companies secure skilled workers and strengthen their competitiveness," adding that the ministry would "manage the project more closely to ensure it stays true to its purpose."