The adoption of the international system of counting age is part of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s aim to reduce social and administrative confusion and conflict. Lee Wan kyu, Government Legislation Minister, delivered this comment on Monday during a press conference in central Seoul. Last December, the National Assembly passed legal reforms to unify South Korea’s separate age system, which will go into effect on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Government Legislation, age will now be measured using the international system in most legal and social contexts, such as contracts and official documents, unless another method is stated.
The present South Korean age system
South Korea currently uses three separate age calculations: the ‘South Korean age,’ in which people are regarded as one year old at birth, the international system, and a system in which people turn one year older every new year. As a rationale for unifying the age system, Minister Lee cited the reduction of avoidable social expenditures generated by uncertainty in the age-counting system. He cited situations in which different methods of determining ages resulted in legal challenges, such as the peak-wage system, which determines salary decreases for older workers based on age.
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However, there are several circumstances where the age system adjustment will not apply. First-grade pupils entering primary schools are one example. According to the worldwide system, children must begin school in March of the following year, regardless of their birth dates. The age system adjustment will also have no impact on specific sectors, including as the legal drinking and smoking age, the eligibility age for public servant examinations, and the military recruitment age for Korean men. In these circumstances, the system of counting age based on the new year will remain in effect.