Members of the ruling People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly's Pension Special Committee said on the 31st, “The National Assembly must establish and operate the pension special committee to ensure that the voices of the younger generation are practically reflected.”
Commissioners Kim Mi-ae, Kim Jae-seop, Park Soo-min, and Woo Jae-jun, who are part of the ruling party's pension special committee, held a news conference at the National Assembly's communication hall that afternoon and said, “In a situation where intergenerational equity issues are arising, such as the increasing burden on future generations, we must complete a real reform that ensures sustainability through structural reforms like collateral fiscal stabilization measures.”
They explained, “Currently, looking at the composition of the pension special committee, it is a structure where the voices of future and younger generations are difficult to be sufficiently reflected,” and noted, “The People Power Party showed its commitment to structural reform by including three members in their 30s, who voted against the amendment to the National Pension Act in the plenary session, as members of the special committee.”
They further pointed out, “However, among the opposition party members, including the Democratic Party, there are no young members emphasizing the necessity of structural reform,” and said, “It is difficult to consider the other one recommended by the National Assembly Speaker as representing the voices of future generations.”
They emphasized, “The operation of the special committee of the 22nd National Assembly must be completely renewed,” and stated, “Both parties need to break away from the existing framework so that the voices of the 2030 young and future generations can be practically reflected.”
Commissioner Kim Mi-ae, the ruling party's secretary of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, met with reporters right after the press conference and said, “We will hold the first meeting of the pension special committee on Wednesday, April 2, at 2 p.m.,” and added, “Our members from the People Power Party insist that even if there are civilian external advisory members, at least the 2030 generation must comprise a majority.”
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik commented on the appointment of Jeon Jong-deok, a Progressive Party member, as one share of the non-bargaining group, saying, “That person could not represent the voices of the youth generation at all, and rather voiced opposition,” and added, “I heard that they also held a press conference today and raised the argument to increase the income replacement rate. There are great concerns.”
Kim noted, “(Recommending a former commissioner who advocated for a 50% income replacement rate) can only be seen as a significant erosion of the will for pension reform. A 50% rate is not reform but regression.”
Commissioner Kim Jae-seop pointed out, “The fact that we, who voted against the composition of the pension special committee, and the members from the Democratic Party who also voted against it and held a press conference, did not participate at all raises suspicions that the Democratic Party lacks the will for structural reform.”