Joo Ho-young, the vice chairperson of the National Assembly who previously served as the chairperson of the 21st National Assembly Pension Reform Special Committee, criticized the discussions on pension reform on the 26th, saying, "Whether the income replacement rate is 43% or 44%, it is just 'blindfolding ourselves and pretending' or 'pissing on a cold stone.'
The vice chairperson held a press briefing that day at the National Assembly and mentioned, "We must significantly lower the income replacement rate."
Currently, both the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to raise the insurance premium rate from the current 9% to 13% in relation to the reform. However, they are in a stalemate over how much to increase the current 40% income replacement rate, with the People Power Party advocating for 42–43% and the Democratic Party for 44–45%. The People Power Party insists that an 'automatic adjustment mechanism' is necessary to ensure that the pension amount received is automatically adjusted according to the inflation rate, the number of subscribers, and life expectancy, along with structural reforms.
The vice chairperson pointed out, "Including military service and childbirth credits in pension reform and raising the income replacement rate to 43–44% would block the leak but also create another small hole." He continued, "For those receiving pensions, it is 'eating and running,' and from the perspective of future generations, it will be 'plunder.'
In particular, he claimed, based on analytical data from Professor Jeon Young-jun of Hanyang University's Department of Economics and Finance, that there would be no improvement in pension finances with an income replacement rate of 43–44%.
According to the professor's data, if the insurance premium rate is 9% and the income replacement rate is 40%, the National Pension's deficit will be 6332 trillion won by 2050; with 13% and 43%, it will be 6159 trillion won, and with 13% and 44%, it will be 6458 trillion won.
The vice chairperson emphasized, "If we have an insurance premium rate of 13% and an income replacement rate of 44%, the cumulative deficit will increase by an additional 120 trillion won, questioning, 'What is the purpose of such pension reform?'
He warned, "When the pension fund is exhausted, the National Pension will need to sell domestic and foreign stocks and bonds. If the National Pension sells stocks, stock prices will drop, and foreign capital will flee," adding, "The moment the National Pension starts selling off assets, domestic asset values will plummet, causing devastation to the Korean economy."
The vice chairperson argued, "Personally, I consider it a 'thank you' for the income replacement rate remaining at 40%," and added, "While I welcome the establishment of a parliamentary special committee, we must not allow the future generations to bear the entire burden and turn a blind eye to 'pension eating and running.'"
He then targeted the Democratic Party, saying, "Instead of Lee Jae-myung saying he cannot persuade the labor unions, he should tell the public that this is not acceptable and push for a complete redesign," emphasizing, "We must ensure there is no neglect of uncomfortable truths while only looking at supporters."