In the Press
Rival parties wrangle over passing pension reform plan next week
- May 24, 2024
- 146
SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- The ruling and main opposition parties wrangled Friday over how to reform the national pension scheme as the opposition leader called for passing a reform plan next week.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) have agreed on the need to raise the premium from the current 9 percent to 13 percent of income, but diverged on the income replacement rate, or pension as a percentage of a subscriber's average income over their lifetime.
The PPP has proposed an income replacement rate of 44 percent, up from the 40 percent set for 2028, while the DP has suggested 45 percent.
DP leader Lee Jae-myung has called for passing the pension reform plan during a plenary session scheduled for next Tuesday, the final session before the current National Assembly's term expires.
"The DP is pushing ahead with a plenary session without agreement between the rival parties, and politically using the pension reform in order to unilaterally pass the special counsel bill," PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho said during a party meeting. "It is truly bad politics."
Choo was referring to a bill on the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the military's response to a Marine's death last year, which President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed this week and will be up for a revote during Tuesday's plenary session.
"The People Power Party considers the pension reform plan a key task to be handled with priority with the people's sympathy during the 22nd National Assembly," he said, referring to the incoming parliament.
Lee, meanwhile, called for a "grand compromise" on the pension reform plan, saying a deal has to be reached at all costs, including a possible meeting between him and Yoon or between Yoon and the rival parties' leaders.
"It doesn't make sense to say we should start discussions from scratch because of a difference in opinion of 1 percentage point," he said during a DP Supreme Council meeting. "The Democratic Party is fully open to making a decision between 45 percent and 44 percent."
The DP later said the presidential office effectively rejected Lee's proposal to hold talks with Yoon on the pension reform plan, which he posted on Facebook the previous day.
Lee's chief of staff, Cheon Jun-ho, told reporters he reached out to Hong Chul-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, to arrange a Yoon-Lee meeting, but got a "regrettable" response.
"When the rival parties wrap up their discussions, the government will collect opinions and listen to experts' views before determining its position," Cheon quoted Hong as saying. "For now, it is difficult for the president and the government to join the discussions."
Revamping the national pension system is one of Yoon's key agenda items amid deepening concerns the pension fund could be depleted sooner than expected due to rapid aging. The state-run National Pension Service said earlier that the fund is forecast to be exhausted by 2055 after experiencing a shortfall starting in 2041.
South Korea is anticipated to have the world's largest share of people aged 65 years or older by 2044 due to rapid aging, according to data from Statistics Korea.
hague@yna.co.kr
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[Photo 1] People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho (C) speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on May 24, 2024. (Yonhap)
[Photo 2] Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung (L) speaks during a party Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on May 24, 2024. (Yonhap)
