Kaeho Lee: "National Pension System for Farmers and Fishermen Needs Review"

Kaeho Lee, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

원본보기 아이콘

There have been calls for a comprehensive review and improvement of the pension premium support system for farmers and fishermen, as the delinquency rate for National Pension contributions in rural areas remains high.

Kaeho Lee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Damyang, Hampyeong, Yeonggwang, and Jangseong in South Jeolla Province, urged the government to take responsible action to ensure stable retirement income for farmers and fishermen.

According to data submitted by the National Pension Service to Assemblyman Lee, the scale of overdue National Pension contributions among regional subscribers has remained severe over the past five years (2020-2024). In 2020, there were 1,354,000 delinquent subscribers with overdue contributions totaling 4.2433 trillion won. By 2024, the numbers still stood at 972,000 people and 2.7235 trillion won. Notably, rural areas such as South Jeolla (30,000 people, 85.1 billion won), North Jeolla (26,000 people, 68 billion won), North Gyeongsang (38,000 people, 110.6 billion won), and Gangwon (29,000 people, 86.9 billion won) showed high delinquency rates relative to their populations.

Currently, the government subsidy for farmers’ and fishermen’s pension premiums is only provided for the months in which premiums are actually paid. As a result, if a delinquency occurs, the subsidy is immediately suspended, leading to a vicious cycle of “delinquency → suspension of support → giving up re-enrollment → widening pension benefit gaps.”

During the National Pension audit on October 24, Assemblyman Lee stated, “Farmers and fishermen experience significant seasonal fluctuations in income and have limited access to National Pension Service branches, yet subsidies are only recognized for the months in which payments are made. This means that once a delinquency occurs, support is immediately cut off.” He called for a comprehensive review of payment flexibility and subsidy design.

He particularly emphasized the need to introduce flexible payment systems-such as quarterly, semi-annual, or lump-sum payments during harvest season-tailored to the income structure of farmers and fishermen, as well as the introduction of a “farmer and fisherman-type Durunuri system” for individual farmers and fishermen. He also argued that the current government subsidy rate of 50% for pension premiums should be raised to reflect current realities, and that retroactive or partial matching support should be provided when delinquencies are resolved, to ensure the sustainability of the system.

Assemblyman Lee reiterated, “Ensuring stable retirement income for farmers and fishermen is a responsibility that the state must share,” adding, “It is urgent to break the structure of support discontinuity and to implement practical institutional improvements to end the vicious cycle of delinquency and re-enrollment.”

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.