Deadlock in Ruling and Opposition Party's State Affairs Council... Pension Reform Income Replacement Rate at an Impasse

3rd Inter-Party Policy Consultation Held
Consensus on Working-Level Talks for Supplementary Budget
Pension Reform Disagreement Returns Talks to Square One

The inter-party national policy consultation meeting chaired by Speaker Woo Won-sik on the 10th broke down just 30 minutes after it began.

The ruling and opposition parties partially agreed on forming a working-level consultative group regarding the supplementary budget bill (supplementary budget), but failed to reach an agreement on the pension reform plan discussed afterward, ultimately returning the discussions to square one.

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters immediately after the breakdown of the inter-party national policy consultation held in the Speaker's office in the afternoon, "There was no gain at all."

Park Hyung-soo, senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, said, "The floor leaders and policy chiefs of each party began discussions on national issues and made progress on the supplementary budget formulation," adding, "It was decided to hold working-level consultations with government participation to proceed with discussions on the supplementary budget formulation."

Kim Sang-hoon, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, Kwon Seong-dong, Floor Leader, Woo Won-shik, Speaker, Park Chan-dae, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jin Seong-jun, Chairman of the Policy Committee (from left), are returning to their seats after a commemorative photo session at the National Assembly Speaker's Office during the National Policy Council meeting on the 10th. 2025.3.10 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Park, the senior deputy floor leader, explained, "However, regarding the pension reform issue, the Democratic Party previously said they would gather internal opinions on the premise of accepting a 13% insurance premium rate and a 43% income replacement rate, but today, within the party, they said they cannot accept 43%."

He added, "Since the pension reform was returned to square one, further discussions are impossible," and "Therefore, our party's floor leader and policy chief said that under these circumstances, it is impossible to discuss the supplementary budget together."

Kim Sang-hoon, policy chief of the People Power Party, said about the supplementary budget discussions, "If the pension consultations are linked to the discussions, the supplementary budget could proceed smoothly," and "We need to reconsider that part once again."