[Reporter’s Notebook] 'Silver Democracy' That Forced the President to Surrender

The proposal by President Lee Jaemyung to restrict free subway rides for seniors during commuting hours has ultimately been scrapped. What is regrettable is not only the questionable effectiveness of the policy, but also the fact that it was not even properly reviewed. No government ministry took responsibility for coordinating the policy. Ministries that used to jump at any presidential order now passed the work on to one another. Even President Lee, once known for cutting through issues decisively, quietly withdrew his own remarks.

The population of seniors aged 65 or older who are eligible for free rides surpassed 10 million last year. The number of people in their 70s (6.54 million) has now exceeded the number of people in their 20s (6.3 million). Considering these population figures alone, it is inevitable that politicians must pay close attention to the senior demographic, just as they do with younger generations.

Naohiro Yashiro, a special professor at Showa Women's University in Japan, has called this phenomenon "silver democracy." In aging societies, the political influence of seniors tends to increase. Sometimes, reforms are delayed due to deference to seniors. Fiscal spending may be allocated more favorably to the elderly than to the general population. There are concerns that silver democracy can be detrimental to economic growth. Masaaki Shirakawa, former Governor of the Bank of Japan, admitted in his memoir that he overlooked how dangerous silver democracy could be for the country's potential growth rate.

Korea, whose demographic structure is similar to Japan's, cannot escape the grip of silver democracy either. As free transportation rides increase, the cumulative deficit of the Seoul Metro has approached 20 trillion won. This is money that future generations will eventually have to repay. The president's directive could have been a golden opportunity to address the issue. However, the Blue House's firm statement that "it is not under review" made it difficult to advance the discussion. With this kind of approach, there are growing concerns that silver democracy will dominate other reforms as well, including those in welfare, labor, and retirement age.

Unfortunately, these concerns are already becoming reality. During the most recent pension reform, the government planned to ease the burden on young people by raising insurance premium rates differently by generation. However, the National Assembly ignored this and decided to slightly increase the premium rates for all generations instead. They also abolished the automatic adjustment mechanism that would have reduced the burden of debt. According to the Korean Association of Public Finance, under this reform, the net benefit per person born in the 2000s will plummet by 22%, while that of those born in the 1960s will rise slightly by 0.4%.

Of course, welfare for seniors in difficult circumstances is necessary. However, being a senior should not exempt anyone from the pain of reforms that "skin the leather." In a society where even a general suggestion to "study the possibility" of limiting free rides during rush hour to alleviate congestion cannot be made, can reform ever have a future? The "first year of structural reform" will not come easily. Only by refusing to surrender to silver democracy and pushing ahead with reforms can we have hope for the future.

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