The floor leader of the ruling People Power Party proposed Sunday the ruling and opposition parties establish a consultative body to thoroughly discuss reforming the national pension scheme in the upcoming 22nd National Assembly.
“Let’s establish a bipartisan consultative body and a special committee on pensions to build public consensus, including from the youth, and handle this during the regular session of the 22nd National Assembly,” Choo Kyung-ho said at a press meeting in the National Assembly.
Choo’s suggestion came amid prolonged debates over the issue with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
He said the government will prioritize the issue as soon as the 22nd National Assembly starts, rather than rushing through a “half-baked reform.”
The DP has previously called for passing the pension reform plan during a plenary session scheduled for Tuesday, the final session before the current National Assembly’s term expires.
The two sides agreed on raising the premium from 9 percent to 13 percent o
f income, but disagreed on the income replacement rate, which is the pension as a percentage of a subscriber’s average lifetime income.
“The DP, which had neglected pension reforms for years, is now suddenly and hastily trying to push through an unresolved reform just three days before the 21st National Assembly’s term ends,” Choo criticized.
He also rejected the proposal by the DP and National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to first implement parametric reforms in the 21st National Assembly, while discussing structural reforms in the next assembly, dismissing it as “not credible.”
“As soon as the hastily made numbers are finalized, the momentum for pension reform will fizzle out,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the presidential office echoed Choo’s sentiment.
“Reforming the national pension scheme is a lengthy process with significant implications for young people and future generations, which requires parametric as well as structural reforms,” a high-ranking presidential official said.
“We think it is mor
e reasonable for the 22nd National Assembly to address the issue,” the official said, citing the limited time available to “achieve a significant compromise.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency