The Stalled Advisory Committee of the National Assembly Special Committee on Pension Reform — Some Quarters Raise Objections to Its Utility (2026-01-25)

One advisory committee member stated, "Without any rules of procedure, the sessions amount to nothing more than an academic event where each side insists it is right,"

adding that "in order to draft structural reform recommendations, procedural rules and an agenda must first be established, followed by substantive discussion of specific reform measures for each agenda item — yet none of that activity is taking place."

The member further noted, "Even a cursory look at the candidate agenda items reveals an absence of any will to produce recommendations. For example, the introduction of an automatic adjustment mechanism was listed merely as 'a review of overseas cases.' At a stage where the committee should be deciding when and how to introduce such a mechanism, it is being asked to first examine foreign precedents to determine whether to introduce one at all. Under this approach, there is no possibility of discussing the manner or timing of implementing an automatic adjustment mechanism."

(Excerpt omitted)

The advisory committee's deadlock had been anticipated from the moment of its inception. The factional confrontation that had been identified as a problem in the advisory committee of the 21st National Assembly Special Committee on Pension Reform — which concluded empty-handed — has intensified further in the 22nd National Assembly.

In particular, the influence of experts aligned with the income security camp — who advocate for raising the National Pension's income replacement rate, increasing general tax funding, and opposing the introduction of an automatic adjustment mechanism — has grown considerably.

One advisory committee member lamented, "The committee should be discussing how to enhance the sustainability of the pension system through structural reform, yet one side maintains that 'while there are sustainability concerns, these can be resolved without structural reform.' When the fundamental premise is contradicted from the outset, how can any solution possibly be found?"

Above all, if the sixth session scheduled for the following month is also canceled or postponed, the advisory committee will effectively be reduced to a state of suspended operation.

https://m.etoday.co.kr/news/view/2548847