Lee Jae Myung: "Willing to Forgo Livelihood Support Fund if Supplementary Budget Fails... Pension Reform by February"

Lee Jae Myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged the ruling party to swiftly pass a supplementary budget, stating, "If we cannot secure the supplementary budget, we are willing to forgo the livelihood support fund." Regarding the pension reform initiative that the Democratic Party is pushing forward, he proposed pursuing parametric reform of the National Pension Scheme by next month.

Lee Jae Myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (center in the photo), is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 31st. Photo by Yonhap News

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 31st, Lee said, "A supplementary budget and a livelihood support fund are absolutely necessary at this time," adding, "I am open to differential or selective distribution of the livelihood support fund." He continued, "If the government and ruling party say they cannot pass the supplementary budget because of the livelihood support fund, we are willing to give it up," and recommended, "I urge you to quickly put together the supplementary budget."

Regarding the National Pension Scheme, Lee called on the ruling party to cooperate on parametric reform. He pointed out, "The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has been actively talking about four major reforms, including pension reform, but as soon as it seemed possible to reach an agreement with the Democratic Party making concessions, their attitude suddenly changed." He continued, "We proposed a compromise at a 45% income replacement rate, but then the People Power Party suddenly attached the strange condition that structural reform must be carried out simultaneously," adding, "Structural reform is not something that can be done easily. That is why we suggested agreeing on parametric reform only."

He emphasized, "Of course, it would be best to have a perfect solution, but if that is not possible, reaching an agreement on a slightly less-than-ideal plan is much better than doing nothing at all," and urged, "Let us finalize the parametric reform quickly, by next month at the latest."

Previously, on January 30, in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, Lee was reported to have responded to former President Moon Jae In's remarks on the need for a supplementary budget by saying, "We do not insist on our proposal, and if the government makes a quick decision, we are ready to discuss and accept it."

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