Yoon rejects criticism of 'vague' pension reform plan

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks in a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul Monday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that his administration prioritizes "public consensus" on pension reform, rejecting criticism that the government's comprehensive plan presented last week lacked the numbers to back it up.

"There is criticism of the comprehensive national pension plan, that it is 'a piece of nonsense without numbers' or 'a ploy to stay safe ahead of the elections,'" Yoon said in a Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan presidential office. "However, pension reform is not an issue that can be concluded only by presenting conclusive numbers without supporting scientific evidence or a social consensus."

He appeared to be shooting back at the liberal Democratic Party's (DP) criticism of his administration's pension reform plans as lacking substance and designed not to upset anyone ahead of next April's general elections.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a national pension comprehensive management plan, which outlined measures to gradually hike the premium rate that stopped short of introducing concrete figures.

In turn, experts and DP lawmakers criticized the proposal as being "rash," as the plan didn't include specific numerical adjustments such as premium rates, pension ages and income replacement rates and only included vague directions for pension reform.

They said the plan seemed to have next April's parliamentary elections in mind rather than properly hashing out the necessary details.

The proposal was to be deliberated by the Cabinet before being submitted to the National Assembly.

Pension reform is one of the three major reform tasks of the Yoon administration, alongside labor and education.

The government plan comes as the country seeks to find a sustainable way to improve fiscal soundness amid a rapidly aging population and low birthrates.

Pension reform is an especially urgent national issue as the state-run National Pension Service (NPS) projects that the fund will see a deficit starting in 2041 and be depleted by 2055.

The National Assembly launched a special parliamentary committee on pension reform in October last year to reach a bipartisan agreement to improve the financial soundness of the national pension system.

In Monday's Cabinet meeting, Yoon rebutted accusations that the reform plan lacked substance, claiming the government has "gathered scientific evidence" through more than 80 meetings with top experts and gleaned the opinions of the general public through 24 in-depth interviews with figures representing diverse groups and public opinion surveys.

"Our government will do its best to reach a national consensus on pension reform without considering political pros and cons," he said. "Even if it is difficult, we will keep our promise to the people through a social consensus."

He then criticized the previous Moon Jae-in administration for "submitting four alternatives without any commitment to pension reform, which only resulted in conflict."

The Moon government presented a pension reform plan with four scenarios, including one maintaining the status quo, or keeping the premium rate at the current 9 percent and maintaining the income replacement rate at 40 percent as before. This sparked criticism that the Moon administration had neglected pension reform.

Yoon also told his aides during the Cabinet meeting, "There is no higher priority than quickly responding to the cries of the people and those on-site, waiting for help right before their eyes."

Yoon further summarized the results of his state visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week, noting it marked the completion of summit diplomacy with the "Big 3" Middle East nations following his state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January.

During the meeting, Yoon highlighted the results of his state visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week, noting that 63 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and contracts worth $20.2 billion were signed during his six-day Middle East tour from Oct. 21.

"Following a state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this year, summit diplomacy with the 'Big 3' Middle East countries has been completed," he said, referring to his trip to the UAE in January.

He stressed that Middle East summit diplomacy will "revitalize the economy and people's livelihood through the creation of quality jobs."

DP floor leader Hong Ihk-pyo said on the Yoon government's pension reform plans during his party's supreme council meeting later Monday, "It's a blind pension reform plan that does not contain specific details on the income replacement rate and premium rate increase, which are the core of pension reform."

He noted that Yoon "blamed" the previous government for its failed pension reform but called the Yoon government's latest announcement "worse than the four specific plans presented by the Moon Jae-in administration, raising concerns that it may have effectively given up on pension reform."

This comes as Yoon is expected to meet with DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung ahead of his budget speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday. The DP boycotted Yoon's budget speech last year.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]