[2020 National Audit] "National Pension Back Payment High-Premium Payers Concentrated in Gangnam 3 Districts"

Kang Sun-woo "Some High-Income Asset Owners Use Back Payment System as Financial Strategy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] It has been revealed that ultra-high contributors who have paid more than 70 million KRW in National Pension back payments are concentrated in the three Gangnam districts.

According to the 'Status of High-Amount Back Payment Applications Over 50 Million KRW' since the implementation of the back payment system, submitted by the National Pension Service to Kang Sun-woo, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, among a total of 712 high-amount payers nationwide, 245 were in Seoul (34.4%) and 184 in Gyeonggi Province (25.8%), ranking first and second respectively.

Within Seoul, Songpa-gu had 32 people (13.1%), Gangnam-gu 28 people (11.4%), and Seocho-gu 22 people (9.0%), with residents of the three Gangnam districts totaling 82 people, accounting for 33.4%.

The National Pension Service's back payment system allows individuals such as women with career interruptions, homemakers, or unemployed citizens to pay the contributions for periods when payments were suspended, which are then counted as subscription periods. However, contrary to the system's intent to eliminate blind spots in the National Pension, some high-income asset holders are using it as a form of financial investment.

The concentration phenomenon in Seoul and the three Gangnam districts was also observed in applications for back payments exceeding 70 million KRW. Among 158 ultra-high back payers who paid more than 70 million KRW in a lump sum, 46 were in Seoul (29.1%) and 33 in Gyeonggi Province (20.9%). Within Seoul, the three Gangnam districts accounted for 14 people, or 30.4%.

Over the past decade, back payment applications increased sevenfold from 20,933 to 147,254. During the same period, the highest back payment amount rose 2.5 times from 43.41 million KRW to 108.03 million KRW, and the average payment amount also increased from 2.48 million KRW to 5.63 million KRW.

Assembly member Kang said, "Last month, the government expressed its intention to improve the system by limiting the back payment period to within 10 years, but it has not yet derived measures to restrict back payment reasons considering periods such as childcare and career interruptions." He added, "In the long term, it will be necessary to establish types of back payment restrictions similar to France, which limits them to overseas employment, university education, and vocational training periods, and Germany, which restricts them to study periods after age 16."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.