Lee Jae-myung "Annual 1.2 Million Won Senior Allowance... 3 Trillion Won Funding Required, Not Populism" (Comprehensive)

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is announcing senior citizen policy pledges at the Shindaebang 2-dong Senior Center in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the 19th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, announced on the 19th that "I will introduce an annual middle-aged allowance of 1.2 million KRW from age 60 until public pensions begin to be paid during my term." In response to criticisms that this is populism, he rebutted, "When estimating the budget for the middle-aged allowance and the abolition of the couple deduction, it amounts to only about 3 trillion KRW, which can be sufficiently covered by the natural increase in tax revenue," adding, "Expanding welfare for the elderly is beyond party lines, and labeling this as populism is a political attack."

At a senior citizens' pledge announcement held at a senior center in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Lee stated, "I will introduce the middle-aged allowance during my term to ease the burden on the elderly aged 60 and above who have retired but have not yet reached the age to start receiving pensions." Many citizens retire around age 60, but there is a gap before receiving public pensions, as the National Pension is paid between ages 61 and 65 depending on birth year, and the Basic Pension starts at age 65, so this allowance aims to fill that gap.

Lee also promised to increase senior jobs from the current 800,000 to 1.4 million by the end of his term. Additionally, he pledged to raise the number of public service-type jobs popular among seniors to 1 million and social service-type jobs to 100,000.

He announced the implementation of a "National Responsibility System for Senior Care." The plan is to expand infrastructure so that seniors with mobility difficulties can use rehabilitation, nursing, and medical services at home instead of hospitals, and to make local governments the control towers for care to provide systematic services. Furthermore, Lee said he would expand support for senior centers’ heating and cooling costs, grain expenses, and facility improvement costs.

Lee said, "Seniors should not suffer from poverty and loneliness but be rewarded fairly for their sacrifices and efforts," adding, "That is the duty of our social community." Regarding the expansion of health insurance coverage for senior dental implants announced that day, he also explained that the required amount is less than 100 billion KRW.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with reporters that day, Lee commented on mentioning constitutional amendment in a broadcast interview the previous day, saying, "I do not have any special plans; I just expressed my opinion because I was asked."

Lee emphasized, "Our constitution is a compromise constitution from the so-called 1987 system, a transitional state from military rule to civilian government in 1987," and said, "It is clear that we need to change this ill-fitting garment." However, he added, "Currently, people’s livelihoods are very difficult, and there are many practical issues to solve. Although the issue of a full constitutional amendment is discussed, the likelihood of realization is low, and it is more likely to just waste energy," noting, "There is a political 'game rule' aspect, and it is not easy for political forces with different interests to reach an agreement."

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