The Pension Reform Special Committee Falls Further Behind…A ‘Free-for-All’ over Advisory Committee Composition (September 15, 2025)

(This is the content of a September 15, 2025 press report, posted  in the Data Archive category of the Pension Future Forum website in order to preserve it as a historical record.)

The National Assembly Special Committee on National Pension Reform (the Pension Reform Special Committee) is at odds over the composition of its private-sector advisory committee.

According to the National Assembly and other sources on the 15th, the Pension Reform Special Committee agreed on the 21st to establish a private-sector advisory committee, and decided to complete its composition by early September.

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Members of the private-sector advisory committee are selected by agreement between the ruling and opposition party floor secretaries. It is composed of a diverse range of experts from academia, civic groups, and stakeholders, and usually numbers around 15 to 20 people. 

The ruling and opposition floor secretaries are currently in the final stages of forming the third-term private-sector advisory committee. However, the ruling and opposition parties are locked in a tug-of-war over the appointment of Yoon Seok-myung, Research Fellow Emeritus at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, who served on the first- and second-term private-sector advisory committees, as an advisory committee member.

This is because the main opposition People Power Party recommended Professor Yoon, but the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has come out against the appointment — on the grounds that Professor Yoon's positions are too forceful. 

An opposition-affiliated official on the Pension Reform Special Committee countered, "Refusing to agree to an advisory committee appointment on the grounds that the person has strong opinions cannot be a valid reason," adding, "Is it really appropriate to bring in someone with no opinions of their own?"

He pointed out, "If there were some wrongdoing, the opposition would have to accept it too, but citing strong opinions as a reason makes no sense," and added, "Are they saying they'll only bring in people who do as they're told?"

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One expert on the National Pension said, "The point by which the Pension Reform Special Committee, including the formation of its advisory committee, should have begun operating normally has long passed," adding, "If there were a valid reason for the delay, that would be understandable enough, but (looking at why it is currently being delayed) there does not appear to be a valid reason."

This expert said, "Given that the Pension Reform Special Committee is being delayed for no valid reason, one reasonably suspects that there may be people who want the discussion to be delayed," and

"there are many pending problems that adjusting only the contribution rate and the income replacement rate cannot resolve, so we need to quickly settle an issue that has dragged on for years and move into a phase where we can persuade the public," he stressed.

https://m.newspim.com/news/view/20250915000729