Ruling Party: "Bipartisan Agreement Must Be Included in Special Committee Formation"
Opposition: "Ruling Party Overturned Agreement... Considering Unilateral Action"
The agreement on the National Pension reform plan, which had overcome the major hurdle of a '43% income replacement rate,' is now facing the risk of collapse. While the People Power Party set the formation of a special committee on pension reform, premised on 'bipartisan agreement processing,' as a precondition, the Democratic Party of Korea countered by accusing the ruling party of overturning the agreement and stated that it is considering unilateral processing.
Kim Sang-hoon, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, told reporters at the National Assembly on the same day, "In fact, the pension reform negotiations have not been finalized."
That morning, Speaker Woo Won-shik and the floor leaders of both parties reaffirmed the existing agreement on the pension reform parameters. The plan involves raising the contribution rate (the amount paid) to 13% and increasing the income replacement rate (the amount received) to 43%. Expansion of childbirth and military service credits, as well as increased support for low-income groups, will be discussed in the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee.
However, there was no consensus on the formation of the pension special committee to discuss structural reforms. The People Power Party insists that the phrase 'bipartisan agreement processing' must be included to process the parameter reform plan, whereas the Democratic Party argues that including this phrase is unnecessary.
Chairman Kim said, "When launching the National Assembly special committee, the phrase 'processing agenda by bipartisan agreement' has never been omitted. But this time, they uniquely want to remove the phrase. Does this mean they intend to process it unilaterally?" he questioned.
He added, "Under the premise that the pension special committee processes the agenda by bipartisan agreement, the parameter reform should be handled in the Health and Welfare Committee. We just need mutual consent on including the phrase about agreement processing," reaffirming the existing stance.
The Democratic Party immediately protested. They expressed a strong intention to actively consider unilateral processing based on the bipartisan agreement.
Jin Sung-jun, the Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party, explained, "At the National Policy Council meeting this morning, it was decided that the Health and Welfare Committee would discuss the parameter reform legislation, and depending on the situation, they would discuss whether to add agreement processing as an operating principle of the pension reform special committee. This essentially means that if a smooth agreement is reached on the details of the pension parameter reform, the special committee’s agreement processing can also be handled together."
He continued, "They have blatantly overturned the matters agreed upon this morning, so I wonder how they intend to negotiate and whether they have the will for pension reform. I am worried whether the ruling and opposition parties can fulfill the agreement to submit and process the pension reform bill at the plenary session on the 20th."
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