The People Power Party noted on the 24th that regarding pension reform discussions, if the opposition party accepts the introduction of an automatic adjustment mechanism, the government could also flexibly review the income replacement rate. It emphasized that after addressing key issues such as pension reform, it could then discuss the supplementary budget. This appears to be a strategy to prevent the opposition's unilateral handling of pension reform proposals with the government, which holds the authority to prepare the supplementary budget.
Kim Sang-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party's policy committee, conveyed the results of a closed working-level consultation of the National Assembly, stating, "The currently expected income replacement rate is 43% to 44%, and it seems that the government will not be stubborn about it. It would be good to hold another working-level consultation soon to reach an agreement on this matter."
He added, "The party's position is to discuss the supplementary budget after the pension reform plan is agreed upon. The government shares the same viewpoint," emphasizing the need for the Democratic Party to make cautious judgments about unilateral handling and actions that exceed the government and ruling party's expectations.
Both the ruling and opposition parties agree on raising the National Pension insurance premium rate from the current 9% to 13%. However, regarding the income replacement rate, the ruling party proposes adjusting it to 42% to 43% based on the introduction of the automatic adjustment mechanism (a system that lowers the regular pension increase rate in line with changes in life expectancy and the number of subscribers), while the Democratic Party argues for a rate of 44% to 45%. The "four-party meeting" of the ruling and opposition parties and the government on the 20th also failed to narrow the differences on the income replacement rate, preventing an agreement. The Democratic Party has stated that if an agreement on the National Pension reform proposal is not reached, it will push for a forced handling within this month.
He stated, "As Representative Lee Jae-myung expressed willingness to accept the automatic adjustment mechanism during the National consultative meeting, I believe we can flexibly derive criteria with the government. We will agree on how to implement the automatic adjustment mechanism and how to adjust the replacement rate flexibly."
He added, "The Democratic Party will gather opinions on the automatic adjustment mechanism, and we have set a timeline for gathering opinions on 44% to find mutual ground through subsequent working-level consultations."
Regarding the semiconductor special law, he noted, "There are also compromises under the Labor Standards Act. If it can be operated under more relaxed conditions by incorporating aspects related to special extended work into the semiconductor law, I believe compromises can be achieved. I hope that the '52-hour work week' limited to the research and development area, based on agreements among the parties involved, will materialize."
Earlier that day, the People Power Party revealed plans to provide 1 million won worth of vouchers per person to small business owners for utility support during a meeting with them. If targeting 7.6 million micro small business owners nationwide, this amounts to 7.6 trillion won. The government plans to prepare the funds through the supplementary budget.
In this regard, Kim said, "The situation of small business owners and self-employed individuals is much more serious than we anticipated. Therefore, although there have been various financial support measures, there seems to be a need for budget support measures that can effectively assist small businesses." He noted plans to request the government to allocate the supplementary budget.