Presidential Office: "Pension Reform Should Be Pursued in the 22nd National Assembly... Lack of Time"

Lee Jae-myung Proposes Settling Pension Reform the Day Before
Presidential Office: "Absolutely Not Enough Time for Grand Compromise"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are shaking hands before the start of a summit meeting held on the 29th of last month at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office stated on the 26th that it is "appropriate to pursue pension reform in the 22nd National Assembly." Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed to conclude pension reform in the 21st National Assembly by saying, "There is no time, so the Democratic Party will concede everything," but the Presidential Office explained that more thorough discussions are necessary.

A senior official from the Presidential Office met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon and said, "Pension reform is a challenging task that requires both parametric reform and structural reform."

The official added, "I believe it has a very significant impact especially on the youth and future generations," and emphasized, "Therefore, the compromise process and procedures that reflect the opinions of all citizens are also important. Rather than rushing to a decision due to time constraints, it is necessary to make decisions that sufficiently reflect the opinions of the entire public, particularly the younger generation."

He continued, "Currently, the 21st National Assembly has only three days left," and said, "I think this is absolutely insufficient time to achieve a grand compromise."

The official added, "Since there is some agreement between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the figures, it is appropriate to thoroughly discuss and promote the pension reform bill in the 22nd National Assembly based on this."

Earlier, Lee Jae-myung held a press briefing at the National Assembly the previous afternoon and said, "This is something that must be done, but since there is no time, the Democratic Party will inevitably concede everything," and stated, "We will fully accept the ruling party's proposed income replacement rate of 44%."

The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to raise the National Pension insurance contribution rate from the current 9% to 13%, but they have not been able to narrow their differences regarding the income replacement rate, which refers to the ratio of pension amount to average lifetime income.

Lee said, "The income replacement rates advocated by the Democratic Party and the People Power Party are 45% and 44%, respectively. We cannot let a 1 percentage point difference derail pension reform," and demanded, "The President should immediately accept the Democratic Party's proposal."