Cynical Response to Han Dong-hoon and Ahn Cheol-soo's Call for Renegotiation
"Not Evaluating Every Move of Those Eyeing the Presidency"
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said on the 23rd regarding pension reform, "Politics is reality," adding, "There is an opponent, and if you are weaker than the opponent and cannot be 100% satisfied, even if you are 50% satisfied, you must first reach an agreement that benefits the people and future generations, and then resolve the remaining issues by persuading public opinion." He explained that in response to demands for the right to request reconsideration (veto) from inside and outside the party, they had no choice but to first push for parametric reform and later discuss structural reform for future generations.
At a press briefing at the National Assembly on the same day, Floor Leader Kwon addressed the claims that the party should hold another general meeting to request reconsideration of the National Pension Act amendment passed by the National Assembly on the 20th. He said, "If we do not implement parametric reform immediately, the total amount of the pension fund will start to decrease from 2029," adding, "Then the accumulated fund will gradually begin to deteriorate. Therefore, we inevitably agreed on parametric reform, and through the Pension Special Committee, we will complete the structural reform that the younger generation is concerned about."
Regarding the agreement to raise not only the contribution rate, which corresponds to the amount paid, but also the income replacement rate, which corresponds to the amount received, Floor Leader Kwon explained, "During negotiations with the Democratic Party, we repeatedly told the Democratic Party leadership that our current generation should make concessions and sacrifices for future generations, but the Democratic Party leadership showed no willingness to accept this." He added, "However, if we continue to delay even this parametric reform, the pension depletion point will be brought forward, and the pension fund itself will shrink. So, although it is unsatisfactory, we agreed on the parametric part to sustain pension finances a bit longer, and we will finalize structural reform by launching the Pension Special Committee, which we believe will actually benefit future generations."
Regarding former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo advocating for veto recommendations, he responded, "It is not appropriate to evaluate each claim made by politicians who are effectively running for the presidency based on the assumption of impeachment approval," but added, "I am more aware than anyone else of the concerns and worries of the younger generation through dialogue."
Floor Leader Kwon expressed agreement with the proposal made during a press conference held by lawmakers in their 30s and 40s from both ruling and opposition parties earlier that day to compose more than half of the Pension Special Committee members, who will discuss future structural reforms, with people in their 30s and 40s, and to inject national treasury funds into the pension fund. He said, "I fully agree with the content urging to accelerate pension structural reform to give hope and dreams to future generations," but added, "Parametric reform was inevitable." Park Soo-min, spokesperson for the People Power Party floor, also said, "If we start drawing down the pension from 2029, the pension will shrink rapidly, and the damage will fall most heavily on future generations," adding, "It would be best to do structural reform all at once, but we had no choice but to proceed with parametric reform this time."
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