The President's Endorsement of a Bottom-Heavy Basic Pension — Will It Gain Momentum in the National Assembly Special Committee on Pension Reform? (March 18, 2026)

(The Pension Future Forum has long advocated for a direction of Basic Pension reform that would "maximize the poverty-alleviation effect per unit of expenditure" and "ensure consistency with other welfare programs.")

 

On the 13th, the Private Advisory Committee of the National Assembly Special Committee on Pension Reform convened a meeting, at which presentations on the Basic Pension were also delivered.

Professor Kim Hak-ju of the Department of Social Welfare at Dongguk University proposed concentrating benefits on the bottom 40% of income earners through targeted benefit increases to establish a poverty floor safety net, while

Professor Kim Won-sup of the Department of Sociology at Korea University opposed reducing the number of Basic Pension recipients, arguing that it should remain a universal welfare program.

(Excerpt)

Yoon Seok-myung, Honorary Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), stated that "the President has courageously articulated a timely and sound policy direction," adding that

"under the current Basic Pension scheme, individuals with earned income exceeding 7 million won can still receive the benefit — how could this possibly be explained to younger generations?" he remarked.

In contrast, Professor Kim Won-sup argued: "If the National Pension were functioning well, it would make sense to discuss providing more of the Basic Pension to those who are not receiving it; however,

in a situation where 50% of beneficiaries receive 400,000 won or less per month, income security problems are unavoidable."

He further remarked: "The current benefit is in the range of 300,000 won — raising it to around 400,000 won while narrowing eligibility would worsen the poverty problem, and raising it to around 600,000 won would not yield significant fiscal savings either."

https://n.news.naver.com/article/003/0013828486?sid=102