"If This Continues, It Will Become the Second Greece"... Ahn Cheol-soo's Appeal for Pension Reform

"Golden Time Has Passed, but Reform Must Not Stop"
Proposals Include Social Dialogue and Raising Mandatory Insurance Payment Age

On the 27th, as the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the 5th Comprehensive National Pension Operation Plan, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, raised his voice, saying, "If pension reform is delayed, we could become the second Greece," urging for swift pension reform.

On the same day, Ahn stated through social media (SNS), "Even if the current pension recipient generation suffers, it is time to hasten proper reform so that the younger and future generations can equally enjoy the benefits of the excellent National Pension system."

He explained, "The blueprint for the National Pension reform promoted by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has been revealed. The expected pension amount promised to National Pension subscribers as of the end of 2023 is 2,825 trillion won, and after subtracting the accumulated fund of 1,000 trillion won, the unfunded liability is 1,825 trillion won, exceeding 80% of this year’s expected Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."

He continued, "South Korea, with the lowest birth rate in the world and the fastest-growing elderly population, has already passed the golden time for pension reform," but added, "However, that does not mean we can stop reform."

Ahn Cheol-soo, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Ahn argued, "If pension reform fails, the burden on future generations will snowball. Even if all members of our society suffer, we must learn lessons from the pension reforms of OECD member countries that implemented reforms ahead of us and strengthen public pensions in a true sense."

He said, "Greece’s pension reform was carried out under external pressure due to economic and fiscal crises, resulting in pension cuts of up to 50% for high-income recipients in an instant. Imagine the pain if the pension you currently receive suddenly drops by half," emphasizing, "Our pension financial situation is more severe than Greece’s. There is no guarantee that we won’t become like Greece if we continue on this path."

He then proposed ▲ presenting the direction of pension reform and engaging in social dialogue ▲ gradually raising the mandatory National Pension contribution age to 65 in the long term ▲ reforming in the order of private school teachers, public officials, military personnel, and National Pension subscribers.

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