What is Yoon's Response to the Opposition's Criticism of the Hollow 'Pension Reform Plan'?

Kim Sung-joo "More Regressive Than Moon Jae-in Government"
Hong Ik-pyo "Diluted Pension Reform Plan"

Although the government announced a pension reform plan on the 27th, it was released without key figures ahead of the general election, leading to criticism that it lacked substance. The opposition parties collectively criticized the government for shifting the responsibility of pension reform to the National Assembly, arguing that the government should have presented concrete numbers and led social consensus. President Yoon Seok-yeol responded to such criticism by emphasizing that "this is not an issue that can be concluded by simply presenting numbers" and stressed the importance of social consensus.

Kim Sung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party and the opposition whip of the National Assembly's Pension Reform Special Committee, criticized the pension reform plan announced on the 27th during MBC's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" on the 30th, saying, "I expected the government to present at least one or two narrowed-down proposals, but instead, they presented 18 hypothetical scenarios, which is even a step back compared to the Moon Jae-in administration five years ago, and then shifted the decision to report to the National Assembly."

On the 27th, the government announced through the 5th Comprehensive Operation Plan for the National Pension that an increase in the insurance premium rate is inevitable regarding pension reform. However, it was criticized for lacking specific figures such as the insurance premium rate or the income replacement rate (the ratio of the pension amount received to the average income during the pension subscription period).

Kim Sung-joo, Senior Deputy Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Policy Coordination Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 22nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Regarding this, Rep. Kim said, "We were eagerly waiting for a cart loaded with something to come, but they sent an empty cart with nothing in it," adding, "On one hand, it is extremely irresponsible and a surrender of the government's role."

There is criticism that the government’s release of a "pension reform plan without substance" was an attempt to shift the responsibility to the National Assembly. He said, "Historically, pension reform involved the government taking responsibility and the National Assembly legislating through discussions on the government's proposals. If the government only presents 18 scenarios and then passes them to the National Assembly to gain public consent through public debate, it means the government is not taking the lead on this difficult and important pension reform and is shifting all responsibility to the National Assembly and the public."

Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at a meeting between current and former floor leaders at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also criticized the plan during the party's highest council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, calling it a "watered-down pension reform plan lacking concrete details on the core issues of income replacement rate and insurance premium increase," and said, "President Yoon has broken his pledge to establish a presidential public pension reform committee and has shown neither the will nor the capability to reform the pension system."

He added, "President Yoon blamed the previous administration for pension reform and claimed he would be different, but this announcement is worse than the four concrete proposals presented by the Moon Jae-in administration, raising suspicions that the government has effectively given up on pension reform."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, seemingly acknowledging the critical public opinion, President Yoon said at the Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office that day, "Pension reform is not an issue that can be concluded by simply presenting final numbers without scientific evidence or social consensus to support it," and added, "Our government will do its best to achieve national consensus on pension reform without calculating political gains or losses."

President Yoon also said, "The previous administration submitted four alternatives without the will to reform the pension system, which only caused conflicts," and "Our government has been preparing steadily to achieve proper pension reform without repeating such mistakes."