Presidential Race Without Yoo Seung-min and Yoon Hee-sook... Voices Saying "Let's Reform Even If It's Hard" Disappear

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The season has arrived when various presidential election pledges such as ‘I will do XXX for you’ and ‘I will give you OO million won’ flood the scene. When plausible stories continue, people sometimes develop the expectation that things will get better if that person becomes president. However, it is necessary to be honest. Sweet pledges always demand a price from the people.

But there were also those who were different.

The pledges they put forward were all full of difficulties. These are people like Yoo Seung-min and Yoon Hee-sook, who left the presidential stage. Their pledges are quite ‘brave.’

Among the People Power Party primary candidates, former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, who tasted defeat by coming in third, had representative pledges such as pension reform and labor reform. At the time of announcing his pledges, he said the following.

"While others were all making sweet promises to give out everything, there were opposing opinions questioning whether a candidate who needs votes in the presidential election should put forward such unpopular pledges, (...) I thought at least we must prevent our youth from paying money but not receiving pensions later."

"Due to the skyrocketing house prices, many gave up on the dream of owning a home and tried investing in coins and stocks, but even for these struggling youths, it is really unacceptable that they might not receive the national pension they are diligently paying from their monthly salaries."

Although he made pledges, former lawmaker Yoo was actually worried. While he claimed the justification of reform, when listening to the detailed specifics, it is confusing whether the pledges are to gain votes or to rally those opposing pension reform. The driving force to implement the pledges is nothing but the dignity of citizens concerned about the future of the next generation and their desperation for the future.

In a past phone interview with this publication, he said, "It is difficult to reduce the amount of national pension benefits," adding, "Currently, the national pension will only reach a 40% income replacement rate (the ratio of pension benefits to average income during employment) by 2028. If it falls below 40%, the elderly will face insecurity." He continued, "It is necessary to extend the retirement age, have people in their early 60s work longer, delay the start of pension benefits, raise pension insurance premiums, or inject taxes in advance."

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

A presidential candidate told the public to work longer as they get older by extending the retirement age, to pay more in pension insurance premiums, or to accept that some taxes will be allocated to pension finances (which means fewer taxes for other uses). Of course, he later also mentioned reforms to public servant and military pensions. However, such pension integration is merely an issue of fairness; ultimately, the only solution to pension problems is to pay more or pay for a longer period. But when such solutions are proposed, the president and the political forces inevitably face strong public backlash.

Nevertheless, he said this was a pledge that must be fulfilled. It was a persuasion for citizens concerned about future generations, and it felt like binding himself with shackles that he could not avoid if he became president.

Former lawmaker Yoon was similar. When he declared his presidential candidacy and was actively announcing pledges, he also spoke about pension reform. He too put forward pledges that were not popular for votes.

In an interview in August, he said the following.

"After announcing pledges, when I look at the comments, people curse saying ‘What kind of pledge is this?’ Some say they will give several tens of millions of won, but it’s not like that."

He faced backlash saying that what he promised to do if he became president was not considered a pledge.

"In the last election, President Moon Jae-in said he would reform pensions. Experts prepared plans, but they were sent back because they did not meet the public’s expectations. The pension was about to disappear, but when people reject raising insurance premiums, it means no reform. It is the leader’s job to persuade the public repeatedly and make reform possible. The finances have worsened over four years. Insurance premiums should have been raised before the baby boom generation retired, but the pension depletion date has come sooner. If you are deceived by a leader who does not talk about what needs to be fixed, greater pain awaits. We must elect leaders who speak honestly and repeatedly to the people. We can drive out those who only talk nonsense to their supporters."

After a two-hour interview, the conclusion was that former lawmaker Yoon was fighting three battles: at least to make the People Power Party presidential primary a policy competition about the country’s future vision, to present and persuade the public about reform agendas, and to lead those reforms himself.

Yoon Hee-sook, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

But as we know, former lawmaker Yoon withdrew from the National Assembly and disappeared from the presidential stage before the real fight began due to allegations of his father’s real estate speculation.

Former lawmaker Yoo also advanced to the top four in the People Power Party primary but was ultimately not chosen.

It has become increasingly difficult to find candidates who raise the flag of reform, acknowledging it as a difficult but necessary path in this presidential election.

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