Kim Young-hoon, a candidate for Minister of Employment and Labor, who is a former railroad engineer, reportedly applied for "honorary retirement" at the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) Busan locomotive crew office on the 24th, the day after his nomination. Candidate Kim is said to have three years remaining until retirement age.
A KORAIL official said, "Kim Young-hoon submitted an honorary retirement application," adding, "Procedures for follow-up measures will proceed accordingly."
Candidate Kim has been working for 34 years since he joined the Korea National Railroad (now KORAIL) in 1992. He was born in 1968 (57 years old), and has three years left until the retirement age of 60. According to KORAIL personnel regulations, the retirement age for employees is 60, and the last two years, for ages 59 and 60, will apply the "wage peak system," resulting in a reduction in salary.
Candidate Kim reportedly drove the ITX-Ma-eum train heading to Busan for the last time at around 7:21 p.m. on the 23rd. It became a topic of conversation that he was operating a train at the moment he was nominated earlier that day. Candidate Kim took charge of the ITX-Saemaul train 1008, which departed Busan for Seoul, from 1:14 p.m. the previous day, but during the 1:30 p.m. nomination briefing, he was on duty and had turned off his mobile phone, leading to him receiving the news late. Before operating the last train back to Busan, Candidate Kim wrote on his Facebook, expressing his feelings about the nomination and stating, "I will ensure safe operations until the end."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has begun preparations for Candidate Kim's confirmation hearing. The presidential office, while nominating Candidate Kim, noted, "He has represented the voice of labor while serving as the Chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and is expected to strengthen the rights of workers through roles such as reducing industrial accidents, amending the yellow envelope law, and implementing a 4.5-day workweek."