Painful Reform Promised by Yoo Seung-min: "I Will Ensure No One Pays into the 2040 National Pension Without Receiving Benefits"

Major National Pension Reform Pledge
Transparent and Sustainable Pension Reform
"We Must Not Be Swayed by Populism"

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Yoo Seung-min, a former lawmaker and presidential candidate from the People Power Party, promised a sweeping reform of the National Pension on the 18th. He pledged to carry out a transparent reform so that the 2040 generation can receive benefits with peace of mind, while recognizing the benefits promised before the reform, acknowledging that it will be painful but necessary.

On the same day, Yoo stated on social media (SNS), "According to the government’s announcement, the National Pension will start running a deficit annually from 2042 and the fund will be completely depleted by 2057." He pointed out, "This projection assumes a total fertility rate of 1.24, but just looking at last year’s plummeting fertility rate of 0.84 shows how complacent the government’s forecast is." He added, "Demographer Professor Cho Young-tae predicts the fund will be exhausted by 2051," and criticized, "While the ticking time bomb of the National Pension’s bankruptcy approaches, administrations that change every five years have all ignored the issue and only played ‘hot potato’ with the problem."

In particular, Yoo criticized former President Moon Jae-in, saying that during his presidential campaign, he introduced the promise to "increase pension benefits without raising insurance premiums" as a "public deception." He said, "Due to bad politics, reform has disappeared, and the ticking of the time bomb is only moving toward the end. It is time to stop passing the buck."

Regarding the direction of National Pension reform, Yoo presented four directions. First, he stated, "I will implement pension reform to delay the depletion point as much as possible so that young people do not end up paying money but unable to receive pensions later." Next, he said, "We will recognize the benefits promised before the reform and not apply changes retroactively to gain public consent for pension reform and eliminate the risk of unconstitutionality due to retroactive application." He also promised, "We will transparently disclose all processes and contents of the pension reform discussions to the public to gain their trust and support." Furthermore, he stated, "For elderly poverty groups who may suffer difficulties due to pension reform, the state will take responsibility for their old age through fair income (negative income tax + social safety net)."

Regarding raising pension reform, which demands sacrifice and pain from the public as a presidential pledge, Yoo shared a solemn reflection. He said, "While others sweetly promise to give everything away, there were opposing opinions asking why a candidate who needs votes in the presidential election should make such an unpopular pledge," but added, "Even if it may seem foolish, I thought of politics as a calling." He said, "At the very least, I believe we must prevent our youth from paying money but not receiving pensions later," and promised sincerely, "I pledge to reform the National Pension."

He said, "After long contemplation on ‘Why do I do politics?’ I promise pension reform," and expressed hope, "I expect you to choose reform for a healthy and hopeful future of the community called the Republic of Korea."

Yoo said, "Do not be swayed by populism that promises to give away money anymore," and warned, "If we do not elect a president who will carry out pension reform in this election, the current young generation and our descendants will have no hope." He promised, "Although it will be painful at first, I, Yoo Seung-min, will definitely accomplish the necessary pension reform for the bright future of our youth."

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