Democratic Party on Yoon Government's Pension Reform Plan: "Parliament Left with the Burden"

Emergency Diagnosis Forum on Pension Reform Proposal Held at the National Assembly
Sobyeonghun: "Trying to Fix Everything at Once Is Wrong"
Jeonjinsuk: "Generational Divide... Deceiving the Youth"

Members of the Democratic Party belonging to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee strongly criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's pension reform plan at a forum. Participants in the discussion focused particularly on the government's introduction of an automatic pension adjustment mechanism and the differentiation of insurance premiums by generation as part of structural reforms.

On the morning of the 12th, the Democratic Party held an "Urgent Diagnosis Forum on the Yoon Government's Pension Reform Plan" at the National Assembly. Former National Assembly member Kim Seong-ju served as the chair, with Professor Joo Eun-seon from Kyonggi University's Department of Social Welfare and Professor Jeong Chang-ryul from Dankook University's Department of Social Welfare participating as discussants. Kim, who served as the secretary of the Pension Reform Special Committee during the 21st National Assembly, stated, "During the 21st Assembly, both ruling and opposition parties and experts engaged in long discussions to gather stakeholders' opinions and formulate a plan. However, the government ultimately rejected that plan, leaving the 22nd Assembly to bear the burden."

An emergency discussion on the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's pension reform plan is being held on the morning of the 12th at the National Assembly, hosted by members of the Democratic Party belonging to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee.

Assemblyman So Byung-hoon (3rd term, Gwangju-si Gap, Gyeonggi) said at the forum, "The very idea of tearing everything apart and fixing it all at once is wrong," adding, "What the 21st National Assembly agreed upon between ruling and opposition parties should have been passed, and changes could have been made in the 22nd Assembly, but that was not done." He further criticized, "It can only be seen as a process where the government passes the ball to the National Assembly, trying to reform the pension system, but then uses the excuse that the Assembly is not cooperating."

Assemblywoman Jeon Jin-sook (first term, Buk-gu Eul, Gwangju) said, "I believe the current pension reform plan is about dividing generations and abandoning the people," adding, "It seems like they are giving young people a blindfolded discount on premiums, but through the automatic adjustment mechanism, proper coverage will not be provided when pensions are truly needed."

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong is announcing the pension reform promotion plan at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The discussants comprehensively analyzed the pension reform plan announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 4th and pointed out its problems. They particularly criticized that if the automatic pension adjustment mechanism is implemented, the total pension amount could be cut by up to about 20%. The automatic adjustment mechanism is a measure to stabilize the National Pension Fund's finances, automatically adjusting pension benefits based on the average number of subscribers over the past three years and changes in life expectancy (how many more years one can live).

Regarding the plan to differentiate insurance premiums by generation, Professor Joo pointed out, "It does not conform to the basic principle of social security that insurance premiums should be borne according to income level." The Ministry of Health and Welfare proposed gradually raising premium rates by year based on birth year and subscription year, but Professor Joo criticized this as not being a tax imposed based on income.