Agreement on Pension Reform Committee Composition Between Ruling and Opposition Parties… Attention on Paradigmatic Reform on the 6th
(Seoul=News1) Reporters: Shim Eun-gi, Han Byung-chan, Son Seung-hwan = The ruling and opposition parties have agreed on the composition of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Pension Reform. The chairmanship of the special committee will be held by the ruling party, with an additional member from a non-negotiating group included, forming a ‘6:6:1’ structure, which gives the opposition a slight advantage in voting dynamics.
There is consensus between the parties on prioritizing discussions on paradigmatic reform, raising the possibility of a dramatic compromise being reached during the ‘ruling and opposition parties’ meeting’ scheduled for two days later. However, fierce debates are expected in the National Assembly over structural reforms.
Both parties have tentatively agreed on the Special Committee’s composition with the ruling People’s Power Party, the Democratic Party, and non-negotiating groups forming a 6:6:1 ratio. While the People’s Power Party strongly pushed for equal representation, the Democratic Party demanded a composition reflecting their seat count, leading to negotiations.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik’s mediation was key, along with an agreement that the committee chair would be from the ruling party as previously determined in the government parties’ consultation. This led to the acceptance of the compromise.
With the successful compromise on the committee’s composition, there is also growing optimism for an agreement on paradigmatic reform. The key issue revolves around the income replacement rate: the People’s Power Party suggests 42-43%, while the Democratic Party is holding firm at 44-45%. Although the gap isn’t considered large, the introduction of an automatic adjustment mechanism is expanding the debate, causing negotiation challenges.
The Democratic Party, having previously conceded the income replacement rate from 50% to 44% during the 21st National Assembly, is unwilling to yield further, especially viewing the automatic adjustment mechanism as undermining the income replacement rate, thus rejecting it.
Given the differences over the income replacement rate, the national assembly speaker’s potential compromise could be pivotal. Speaker Woo’s mediation package, previously intended for the second government-party consultation, is likely to be presented at the upcoming meeting on the 6th.
Speaker Woo’s pension reform mediation is reportedly strongly linked with supplementary budgets and the semiconductor special law. If Speaker Woo presents a pension reform plan favoring one party, it’s speculated that supplementary budget support or semiconductor law concessions might follow.
Park Sung-joon from the Democratic Party remarked, “It was difficult to find a common ground today. However, we aim to reach a consensus through discussion on March 6th.” Meanwhile, Park Hyung-soo from the People’s Power Party stated, “Both supplementary budgets and pension reform are vital issues, as is the semiconductor law concerning future industries. We believe they should be discussed concurrently around the same table.”
While there is a fair possibility of reaching a dramatic agreement on paradigmatic reform during the meeting on the 6th, structural reform, which the special committee will address intensively, is expected to remain a long-term task. Considering the potential for early presidential elections, political circles widely recognize the improbability of concluding this matter within President Yoon Suk-yeol’s term.