The government plans to expand programs to help job seekers in their 50s and older.  

During an economy related-ministerial meeting on Monday, the Labor Ministry announced an augmentation to job-creation schemes for “new middle-age workers,” referring to those aged 50 and older seeking work after retirement. 

Under the plan, small and mid-sized firms that hire people aged 50 and older will receive a 800-thousand won subsidy per hire, every month, for up to 12 months, while medium-sized firms receive 400-thousand won. 

The ministry plans to increase the number of recipients for this year by a thousand from the initial plan to three-thousand, with five-thousand to benefit from the measures in 2019. 

The ministry also plans to increase the number of community-based, social services-related part-time jobs for those in their 50s and older to 20-thousand next year.