SEOUL, KOREA - A total of 8,000 KT executives and employees has applied for a special voluntary retirement program. The largest telecom service provider in Korea will be able to save up to 700 billion won from the latest downsizing measure. The company said on April 21 that as many as 8,320 have submitted applications by the 6 pm deadline on the same day. The applicants will terminate their employment on April 30 after going through a personnel committee screening on the 23rd.

 

 

 

KT had begun taking applications since March 10. Even though the original deadline was April 24, it moved up the date by three days in order to prepare for the resumption of the retail business after a Korea Communications Commission-imposed suspension.

 

The program was offered under the agreement with the union to those employees whose years of service are in excess of 15 years. According to the company, the average age of the applicants is 51 years of age, with the average years of service 26 years. By age group, those in their 50s take the lion's share of 69 percent, with the remaining 31 percent in their 40s.

 

KT said it would actively arrange those retirees to work in its customer service units such as KT M&S and ITS if they wish. In addition, it will provide career change programs to help the retirees open retail stores and find new employment opportunities. Assuming that all the applicants would retire, the current workforce of 32,188 will be reduced to 23,868. Their average age will also be lowered to 44.5 years from the current 46.3.