[Exclusive] Transfer of National Pension Representative Lawsuit Authority to Review Committee Falls Through

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The Ministry of Health and Welfare's plan to transfer the authority for representative lawsuits of the National Pension Service from the Fund Management Headquarters to the Trustee Responsibility Committee (TRC) has effectively fallen through. This is due to strong opposition from the business community and growing resistance within related government departments.

According to related ministries on the 9th, ahead of the full meeting of the National Pension Fund Management Committee scheduled for the 25th, the government has reached a consensus to withdraw the proposed revision of the "Trustee Responsibility Activity Guidelines," which would have delegated the authority for representative lawsuits of the National Pension to the TRC. A key government official stated, "There is strong opposition to granting authority without responsibility," adding, "The government has decided to postpone the decision on this matter for now." At this Fund Management Committee meeting, unusually, vice ministers from other ministries besides the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the main ministry in charge, will attend to explain their respective positions and bring closure to the controversy. ▶Related article on page 5

The Ministry of Health and Welfare faced internal and external opposition when it attempted to transfer decision-making authority regarding the National Pension representative lawsuits, scheduled to begin this year, to the TRC, which is merely an advisory body. The business community has argued that the National Pension’s representative lawsuits themselves constitute an unprecedented and excessive infringement on corporate management rights worldwide, expressing concerns about the TRC’s lack of expertise, the potential for excessive litigation, and unclear accountability. They pointed out that if the TRC decides to initiate lawsuits, there would be no internal checks within the National Pension Service, nor institutional mechanisms to hold the TRC accountable for damages caused to companies in case of losses.

The Blue House is reportedly partially sympathetic to the business community’s stance that "authority and responsibility must align." It was also noted in interdepartmental discussions that the TRC is politically biased, being predominantly composed of members recommended by labor and civic groups, thus lacking political neutrality. A government official said, "There were concerns about stirring anti-business sentiment just before the presidential election," adding, "However, the possibility of re-pursuing the guideline revision after the election cannot be ruled out."

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