Ruling Party Pension Special Committee: "Even Private and External Advisory Members Must Have a Majority of 2030 Generation"

"Youth Voices Must Be Practically Reflected"
National Assembly Pension Special Committee to Hold First Meeting on April 2

Members of the People Power Party (PPP) belonging to the National Assembly's Special Committee on Pension Reform criticized the Democratic Party of Korea on the 31st for excluding lawmakers who supported structural reform from the committee and urged that more than half of the private and external advisory members should be from the 2030 generation.

Kim Mi-ae, the ruling party's secretary of the Pension Special Committee, along with PPP committee members Park Soo-min, Kim Jae-seop, Woo Jae-jun, and Kim Yong-tae, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the same day, stating, "The National Assembly must organize and operate the Pension Special Committee so that the voices of the younger generation are practically reflected."

Among them, Kim Jae-seop was born in 1987, Woo Jae-jun in 1988, and Kim Yong-tae in 1990, making three members in their 30s. On the other hand, the Democratic Party submitted a list of members including lawmaker Oh Ki-hyung (secretary), Nam In-soon, Kang Seon-woo, Kim Nam-hee, Mo Kyung-jong, Park Hong-bae, Chair Woo Won-shik, and Progressive Party lawmaker Jeon Jong-deok. Among them, only Mo, born in 1989, belongs to the 2030 generation. Furthermore, Democratic Party lawmakers Lee So-young, Jeon Yong-gi, and Jang Cheol-min, who demanded structural reform, were not included.

Members of the ruling and opposition parties in their 30s and 40s who oppose the National Pension reform plan are holding an emergency press conference on the 23rd at the National Assembly Communication Office under the name "Members of the National Assembly Demanding Better Pension Reform." Photo by Yonhap News.

PPP lawmakers in the Pension Special Committee stated, "The recently passed parameter adjustment bill in the National Assembly is just the beginning. In a situation where intergenerational equity issues such as increased burdens on future generations are emerging, we must correct this through structural reforms, including fiscal stabilization measures that ensure sustainability, and complete genuine reforms that can be called true reforms." They pointed out, "Looking at the current composition of the Pension Special Committee, we believe it is structured in a way that makes it difficult for the voices of future and younger generations to be sufficiently reflected."

They continued, "There is a great concern that, like the 21st National Assembly Pension Special Committee, the voices of the younger and future generations might be practically excluded from the operation. During the 21st Pension Special Committee, several members repeatedly proposed direct participation of the younger generation, but it was never realized." Among the 21st National Assembly Pension Special Committee members, Baek Hyun-jin of the PPP (born in 1983) was the only member born in the 1980s, and among the 16 members of the 1st private advisory committee, 20 members of the 2nd private advisory committee, and 11 members of the public deliberation committee, the youngest external advisory member was born in 1977.

They added, "The operation of the 22nd National Assembly Special Committee must be completely renewed. Both parties must break away from the existing framework to ensure that the voices of the 2030 youth and future generations are practically reflected." They emphasized, "There are clear limitations to indirect methods such as hearings and roundtable discussions for hearing youth voices. Youth participation must be institutionally guaranteed so that they can practically engage in the decision-making process."

The National Assembly Pension Special Committee plans to hold its first meeting on April 2 at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Lawmaker Kim Mi-ae introduced, "Since the first meeting will be a greeting session, it will be a place to express the will on how to carry out the committee's activities. This Pension Special Committee aims to properly establish a multi-layered pension system including fiscal stabilization measures, basic pensions, and retirement pensions to ensure pension sustainability and to fairly distribute pension burdens across all generations."

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