Vice Minister Gi Jae: "The Cause of Elderly Poverty in Korea Is the Late Introduction of the Pension System... Job Policy Response Is Inevitable"

Kim Yong-beom, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, Mentions Elderly in 'Grammar of Poverty'
"Basic Old-age Pension Insufficient for Comfortable Retirement... Elderly in Our Country Need to Work"

▲The above photo is not related to the article (Source=Asia Economy DB)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Amid ongoing criticism labeling the government’s senior employment projects as "tax-funded jobs," Kim Yong-beom, the First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, expressed the inevitability of related policies and projects.

On the 25th, regarding senior employment projects, Kim Yong-beom posted on his Facebook a piece titled "The Grammar of Poverty Seen Through the Life of Yoon Young-ja Born in 1945," stating, "It is an unavoidable temporary policy response that fills the gap left by the absence of public retirement pensions and cushions the sharp decline in the number of employed persons." In his post, Kim referenced "The Grammar of Poverty," a book by urban researcher So Jun-cheol based on close interviews with elderly people collecting recyclables, and noted that "Yoon Young-ja born in 1945" is also a character featured in the book.

He said, "The late introduction of the national pension system in our country is the most direct cause of elderly poverty," adding, "Although the basic old-age pension and universal health insurance provide a minimal safety net, it is far from sufficient for a comfortable retirement life. Therefore, our elderly need to work."

He continued, "While private-sector senior jobs such as housekeeping, caregiving, security, and cleaning are increasing, public job projects remain the most important single sector," analyzing that "The reason why our country’s senior public job projects and budgets are significantly larger than those of advanced countries is because pension expenditure budgets for retirees are correspondingly smaller."

Kim Yong-beom, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks at the 'Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting' held on the 18th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

In particular, he pointed out that South Korea has entered the population cliff stage, stating, "If we had pension systems like advanced countries where retirees receive pensions and do not work, the number of employed persons would inevitably decrease sharply every year going forward, and economic growth rates would decline accordingly." He emphasized, "Paradoxically, the reality that many people must work more through public job projects due to the lack of pensions plays a role in preventing the rapid decline in the number of employed persons caused by demographic structure."

As solutions to the ongoing elderly poverty problem, he diagnosed: ▲temporarily raising the basic pension only for those above a certain age ▲continuing senior employment projects ▲entrusting senior jobs to the private sector and accepting the resulting worsening elderly poverty. However, regarding the last method, he added, "Considering that elderly poverty often results not from their own fault but from supporting their children’s education and businesses, the argument to entrust this issue to the private sector and accept the consequences lacks moral and political persuasiveness."

Meanwhile, recent employment and employment rate data by age group show improvement only among those aged 60 and above. According to Statistics Korea’s November employment trends, last month the number of employed persons decreased across all age groups?15-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59?compared to the previous year, while only the 60+ group increased by 372,000. This trend has continued since the COVID-19 pandemic, largely reflecting the frozen private employment market and the government providing only tax-funded jobs directly created by public funds. Some argue that this direct government intervention in the job market not only leads to excessive fiscal spending but also creates an illusion regarding the job market.

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