National Assembly passes bill to raise special guards' retirement age

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a revised Security Business Act that raises the mandatory retirement age for special security guards to 65. The amendment aims to address poor working conditions and limited labor rights for personnel protecting critical national infrastructure.

Special security guards are private citizens tasked with guarding important state facilities, a system introduced after the foreign exchange crisis to replace petition police and cut public costs. Despite the high responsibility of preventing threats to these sites, workers have faced restrictions on basic labor rights, unreasonable retirement limits and low wages.

The new law seeks to guarantee proper treatment under state responsibility by improving tenure systems and setting standards for cost calculations. It also creates a legal foundation for security business operators to join liability insurance or mutual aid programs.

"The bill sponsored by Representative Lee Kwang-hee aims to improve the retirement system for special security guards and establish a basis for joining liability insurance," said Seo Beom-su, chairman of the second subcommittee on bill review at the Administrative and Safety Committee. "We deliberated and passed the amendment to raise the retirement age to 65."

Representative Lee and 12 other lawmakers originally proposed the legislation on August 6 last year. The Administrative and Safety Committee first approved the amended version on March 26, followed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on April 22. The final vote took place during the second plenary session of the 437th interim session on July 23.