President Lee Says Retirement Pension Stability and Returns Need Review, Hints at System Reform

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung raised the need to improve the retirement pension system on the 25th, calling for broader social discussion on strengthening expertise in stability and returns.
At a briefing at the Chunchugwan Press Center at the Blue House, Kang Yoo-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, explained the results of the 39th Senior Presidential Aides Meeting chaired by Lee and said, "There was discussion today about retirement pensions at the meeting."
According to Kang, Lee received a report from the senior secretary for social affairs in the closed-door meeting on measures for a fair labor market for growth for all and for strengthening the basic safety net. He then reviewed how retirement pensions are being operated at workplaces with fewer than 300 employees and those with 300 or more.
Lee said retirement pensions should be examined from three broad angles. Kang quoted him as proposing that social discussion is needed in detail on "retirement pensions as stability from employers, the part of stability workers can protect on their own, and how to strengthen expertise in returns."
Retirement pensions, together with the National Pension Service (NPS), are a key pillar of income in old age, but gaps in adoption by workplace size and concerns over returns have been raised repeatedly.
In his public remarks, Lee also cited pension reform as a major structural reform task. He said, "If a task is truly necessary for the future of our society, reform must not stop. We should have enough debate and persuasion to keep moving forward," and added that he would push ahead steadily with the future-oriented use of excess tax revenue, reform of real estate taxes, labor and pension reform, and strategies for regional development.
west@fnnews.com Sung Seok-woo Reporter