SEOUL– A parliamentary special committee on pension reform kicked off Tuesday, vowing to reach all-party cooperation to improve the financial soundness of the national pension system.
Revamping the national pension system is one of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s key reform agenda items. Yoon has called for speedy reform of the pension system amid concerns it could dry up faster than expected due to rapid aging.
“South Korea is experiencing a low birth rate and the aging population at an unprecedented speed across the world,” Rep. Joo Ho-young of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), who chairs the committee, said.
According to Joo, 100 people of working age support 25 seniors currently but will have to support at least 100 seniors in 2070.
South Korea is expected to become the country with the largest share of people aged 65 years or older in the world in 2044 due to rapid aging, according to data from Statistics Korea.
“The committee shoulders the heavy burden of settling people’s conflict over the matter and finding a way to guarantee stable distribution of pension to all generations,” Joo said.
The special committee will comprise 13 lawmakers, including six each from the PPP and the main opposition Democratic Party, and one from the minor progressive Justice Party.
Source: Yonhap News Agency