Yoon Hee-sook: "Children Born This Year Will Inherit 50 Million Won in Pension Debt... Public Pension Reform Is Necessary"

"Public Pension Debt Already Reaches 2,500 Trillion Won"

Yoon Hee-sook, member of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party who declared her presidential bid, announced on the 1st that she will reform all public pensions, including the National Pension, as part of her presidential campaign pledges. Yoon pledged to launch a 'Public Pension Reform Special Committee' composed of leaders from ruling and opposition parties and experts to carry out the reform.

In a post on her Facebook on the same day, Yoon stated, "All public pensions, including the National Pension that supports the retirement of the majority of our people, as well as the Government Employees Pension, Private School Teachers Pension, and Military Pension, are all heading towards collapse. The debt mountain is too large to handle," adding, "The public pension debt already amounts to 2,500 trillion won, so a child born this year is effectively born with a pension debt of 50 million won."

She pointed out, "This is due to the structure of paying less and receiving more," and said, "If the National Pension fund is depleted in 30 years, the insurance premiums will rise up to 30%. The current generation receives more than they paid, but the next generation will have to pay an exorbitant amount."

She continued, "The end result will ultimately be the demise of the pension system itself. Then, not only today's youth and children but also today's middle-aged people who will be in their 80s at that time will all be distanced from pension benefits."

Yoon also criticized President Moon Jae-in's pledge, saying, "President Moon made a hollow promise to increase pensions, resulting in a meaningless reform package that was ignored throughout his term." She likened this to "covering a ticking time bomb with a cloth," expressing concern that "you cannot stop a bomb with a cloth."

Regarding ruling party politicians advocating for the introduction of basic income, she criticized, "They do not think about saving the pension but propose introducing new basic income. Afraid of losing popularity, they ignore the crisis and engage only in populist competition of debt parties with taxes," adding, "Who cannot distribute unconditionally? You just need to know addition and subtraction. They do not do it because of responsibility for the future."

Furthermore, Yoon emphasized, "The biggest principle of pension reform is to fix the 'eat-and-run' structure so that the next generation can also receive pensions. The pain of reducing vested rights granted to the current generation is inevitable," and stressed, "That pain must be borne by all citizens without exception."

In conclusion, she said, "Pension reform is an unpopular topic in politics. Especially when touching on the Government Employees Pension and Private School Teachers Pension, it is said that votes will drop," but added, "However, politics must speak of real crises, not false hopes. Rather, honestly addressing the crisis is the beginning of creating a better future."