The National Assembly's special committee on pension reform for discussions on the National Pension 'structural reform' began its first meeting on the 8th, but debates ensued between the People Power Party, the Democratic Party, and the Justice Party regarding the formation of the committee. The parties also clashed over the 'financial stabilization measures' aimed at enhancing the sustainability of pensions.
The special committee held its first plenary session at the National Assembly that morning and passed a resolution on 'the appointment of the Chairperson and the Commissioners.' Four-term lawmaker Yoon Young-seok from the People Power Party was appointed as the Chairperson, while Kim Mi-ae from the People Power Party and Oh Gi-hyeong from the Democratic Party were appointed as the Commissioners for their respective negotiation groups.
As the Commissioners expressed their determination to join the special committee, the meeting, which was going smoothly, became chaotic when lawmaker Woo Jae-jun from the People Power Party questioned the participation of Justice Party lawmaker Jeon Jong-deuk in the committee.
Lawmaker Woo stated, 'I understand that the Justice Party opposes the introduction of automatic stabilization measures and asserts that the income replacement rate is insufficient at 43% and must be raised to 50%. If that is the case, I'd like to know whether you agree with the financial stabilization measures in the pension reform agreement, and if so, how you plan to implement it.'
The controversial remarks continued. Lawmaker Woo said, 'If this is not the case, it might be a way to step back from the composition of the special committee this time,' which caused a stir in the venue. He also mentioned Democratic lawmaker Kang Sun-woo's statement on Facebook last month: 'Is pension reform unfair to the youth? If you don't know, study and keep your mouth shut until you do.' He remarked, 'It seems there was similar wording today.'
In response, lawmaker Kang said, 'This is the first time I have heard of expressing regret about the composition of the committee by another party's Commissioners, and I believe I should receive an apology for publicly criticizing me regarding my legislative activities and for isolating just one word from the context.'
Former lawmaker Jeon also demanded, 'Does a specific lawmaker from one party have the right to say who can and cannot participate in matters resolved in the National Assembly plenary session, appointed by the Speaker? The perception that the youth generation being listened to is the only one is wrong.'
Ultimately, lawmaker Woo expressed, 'I will be more cautious in my expressions moving forward,' and expressed regret. However, former lawmaker Jeon asserted that it was not a clear apology, saying, 'It feels like witnessing the suppression of Yoon Suk-yeol, a leader of insurrection,' which prompted the People Power Party lawmakers to respond, 'Please stop. Why is that being mentioned here?' and heightened the atmosphere in the meeting room. Eventually, Chairperson Yoon concluded, 'Since it's the first meeting, let's understand and move forward,' bringing the chaos to an end.
The parties also clashed over the meaning of the phrase 'financial stabilization measures' in the agreement. The agreement specifies, 'We will discuss reform measures for financial stabilization, including the stability of pension finances and the guarantee of income in retirement for the national, basic, retirement, and personal pensions.'
Democratic lawmaker Oh Gi-hyeong, the Commissioner from the Democratic Party, noted, 'It is true that there are concerns about the sustainability of pension finances. We need to discuss various solutions to this, and I believe the methods are open. It is time to concretely discuss the national treasury's input into the National Pension. However, we need to reevaluate the impact on national finances from a broader perspective and also assess the capacity for financial input,' putting emphasis on 'boosting revenue through the national treasury input into the National Pension.' Fellow party member Park Hong-bae, from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, stated, 'Automatic adjustment measures could lead to increases in contribution rates or reductions in benefits under the guise of financial stabilization,' suggesting a cautious approach.
On the other hand, Kim Mi-ae, the Commissioner from the People Power Party, stated, 'We need to deeply discuss the financial stabilization measures, including the introduction of automatic adjustment measures, as initially agreed to ensure the sustainability of the system, and build a robust multi-layered pension system that guarantees practical income in retirement.' This placed emphasis on the introduction of automatic adjustment measures.
In response, Democratic lawmaker Nam In-soon argued, 'The agreement mentions financial stabilization measures. These measures can increase contribution rates and enhance the revenue of the pension fund through multiple means.' To this, Kim replied, 'The main focus was on automatic adjustment measures. However, to prevent time-wasting during the negotiation process, the Ministry of Health and Welfare introduced the title of the clause on automatic adjustment measures as financial stabilization measures. I hope such matters are not mentioned any further.'
The National Assembly's pension special committee will discuss structural reform proposals until the end of this year. Key tasks include financial stabilization measures to enhance the sustainability of pensions, as well as the integration of the basic pension, retirement pension, and personal pension into the National Pension. Previously, on the 20th of last month, the National Assembly passed the basic pension reform proposal, which includes a contribution rate of 13% and an income replacement rate of 43%.