Yoon to Hold National Briefing and Press Conference on 29th... Direct Explanation of '4+1 Reform' to the Public

Held at 10 AM at Yongsan Presidential Office
Second National Briefing... Explanation of Reform Tasks
Press Conference After About 3 Months... Q&A Session

President Yoon Suk-yeol is answering questions from the press at the '2nd Year National Report and Press Conference of the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration' held on the morning of May 9 at the briefing room of the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a national briefing and press conference at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 29th. He plans to directly present to the public the ‘4+1 Reform’ initiative, which includes responses to low birth rates alongside the four major reforms in pensions, healthcare, education, and labor.

According to the Presidential Office on the 27th, President Yoon will hold a national briefing at 10 a.m. on the 29th at the Presidential Office to explain key national issues. This will be the second national briefing since the announcement of the 'Yeongilman Oil and Gas' deposits in June.

Jung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, announced the briefing during his opening remarks at the high-level ruling party-government meeting held on the 25th at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "The president will detail his vision and aspirations for core national tasks directly linked to the Republic of Korea’s long-term future before the public."

President Yoon plans to reveal pension reform measures during this briefing. The plan is expected to include strengthening intergenerational equity by having the younger generation pay less insurance premiums while those soon to receive pensions pay more.

For example, the middle-aged group would see their insurance premium rates increase by 1 percentage point annually, while the younger generation’s rates would rise by 0.5 percentage points, reducing the burden on the youth until the target premium rate is reached.

The pension benefits for military service members and women giving birth are also expected to be included. Currently, the ‘childbirth credit’ is recognized from the birth of the second child onward; the plan is to apply it from the birth of the first child. Additionally, the period recognized for pension contributions during military service, which is currently limited to six months, is likely to be extended to cover the entire military service period.

Notably, the government proposal is also reported to include a mechanism that automatically adjusts payment and benefit amounts if the fund faces depletion, ensuring sustainability. However, during this briefing, President Yoon is expected to present only the broad direction of pension reform, with detailed government plans to be announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare early next month.

Other topics related to healthcare, education, labor, and low birth rate reforms will also be addressed. Key points include shifting focus to specialists in tertiary general hospitals, strengthening support for essential medical services, the Neulbom School initiative, protection for vulnerable workers, and the launch of the Population Strategy Planning Department.

President Yoon will also personally respond to questions from reporters on the day. This will be about three months since the last press conference held on May 9, marking his second anniversary in office. At that time, President Yoon answered questions for 1 hour and 13 minutes, responding to 20 questions. This time as well, he is expected to accept questions without restrictions on topics such as politics, economy, diplomacy and security, and reform tasks.