A Seoul court has ruled against some 13-hundred employees of KT Corporation, who claim that the company's peak age system is tantamount to age discrimination.
 
In a ruling against the plaintiffs on Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court said KT’s peak wage system does not constitute discrimination against senior staff, as their retirement age was extended from the previous 58 to 60 after the introduction of the system.
 
The court explained that the extended retirement age itself could be regarded as major compensation for the peak wage system, which actually increased the total amount of wages the employees receive.
 
In March 2015, KT’s labor and management agreed that the retirement age would be extended to 60, while the wage would be cut by ten percent each year, starting at the age of 56.
 
Incumbent and former KT workers filed lawsuits, arguing that their salaries were reduced unfairly due to an under-the-table agreement between the union leader and management.