South Korea is among countries that seek to protect workers against dismissal until a set retirement age, but concern about old-age poverty has triggered a debate about extending those protections even longer. This month, President Moon Jae-in pledged to work toward extending the retirement age so that the elderly could work longer in full-time jobs.

Some economists say the idea could actually hurt economic growth because it could discourage businesses from hiring younger people. Nam Jae-ryang, a researcher at the Korea Labor Institute in Sejong, South Korea, says most of the benefits would also go to unionized workers who are already relatively better off -- such as employees at big companies like Hyundai Motor Co., or government officials, whose job security is already mocked as "iron rice bowls.”