[Yun Seok-myeong's Pension Reform Stories] National Assembly Members at the Parliamentary Audit Who Are Pushing "Pension Deterioration" and Leading the Nation Toward Ruin (October 20, 2024)

(As of October 22, 2024)

This is what came to mind upon observing the parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Pension Service (NPS). "To think that our tax money is being spent on National Assembly members like these! Are they truly intent on leading the nation toward ruin?"

The image of a melting Taegukgi from the German YouTube channel Kurzgesagt's "Why Korea is Dying Out" immediately came to mind.

The image of Professor Emeritus Joan Williams of the UC College of Law grabbing her head upon hearing of Korea's extremely low birth rate and exclaiming, "South Korea is completely done for. Wow!" also resurfaced.

This occurred at a recently held pension reform policy forum. "Taking various indicators together, around the year 2060, a comprehensive collapse in Korea appears unavoidable.

At that point, it seems that only basic livelihood security recipients and civil servants will remain in Korea. All fighting with one another to claim more budget, citing the guaranteed payment provisions of the Government Employees Pension!" This is the assessment of a specialist who has worked in the National Assembly's budget field for more than ten years.

(omitted)

It is difficult to comprehend "the assertions of these National Assembly members, who take it for granted that a pension system in which every age cohort receives more than it contributes can be sustained." They appear to be closing their eyes and ears to the fact that 70% of OECD member countries have introduced automatic adjustment mechanisms in order to shift toward a system in which benefits correspond to contributions, while actively seeking to block the introduction of such mechanisms here.

"They want to say only what the public wants to hear—that 'everyone can take out more than they put in'—while carefully omitting what the public needs to hear: 'That is an irresponsible claim.'" This is the assessment of Professor Kim Hak-ju of the Department of Social Welfare at Dongguk University, a member of the Pension Future Forum.

It was December 18, 2018, during the Moon Jae-in administration. The following is what the author said at an expert briefing on the government's pension reform proposal convened under the chairmanship of Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo.

"Were former President Roh Moo-hyun and former Minister Yoo Si-min fools? In 2007 they sought not only to lower the income replacement rate but also to raise the contribution rate to 12.9%. It is difficult to understand why the Moon Jae-in administration, which claims to be the successor of the Roh administration, would attempt to reverse course" ("Is this an attempt to undo the Roh Moo-hyun reform?" — JoongAng Ilbo). To the extent that such criticism was leveled, the Moon Jae-in administration attempted to swim against the tide of the times in pension reform.

The Democratic Party does not appear to feel even a trace of shame for having squandered the golden opportunity for pension reform when it was the ruling party. If it felt any shame, it would at least be incapable of making such pronouncements about leading the nation toward ruin.

The same observation applies equally to the members of the People Power Party's predecessor, the Grand National Party, who engaged in opposition for opposition's sake against the Roh Moo-hyun administration's pension reform, as well as to the half-baked experts who aligned themselves with that position.

https://m.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20241020010010772