ed Faltering pension reform

`Paying less and receiving more’ scheme no longer tenable

Groups of civil servants on Monday threatened to withdraw from the "national grand compromise group” created to discuss overhauling the pension system for government employees.

At a press conference at the National Assembly, representatives from the groups asked the ruling Saenuri Party to reveal ― at the earliest possible date ― if it is willing to deal with the reform of the national pension system along with the overhaul of the civil servants pension scheme. The warning comes as a governing party lawmaker recently said no to the simultaneous overhaul of the two schemes.

With the compromise group due to complete its brief by March 28, their withdrawal would set back the prospect of a consensus on the costly pension scheme for public officials in the immediate future. Allegations by the civil servants also sound unconvincing, especially as the attempt to link the two systems seems nothing more than a ploy to abort the necessary reform by complicating matters.

Despite the ruling camp’s stated commitment to reforming the public officials pension system, it is unclear yet whether the plan is on schedule, with little progress over the two months since the compromise agency was launched.

They then have to iron out a single compromise by the end of April, and the bill must be endorsed at the legislature by early May. However, keeping this schedule appears hard, considering glaringly different views inside the group.

All previous governments since President Kim Dae-jung pushed for pension reform, but to no avail, in the face of resistance from public officials and politicians’ irresponsible acts. But failing to overhaul the debt-ridden public servant pension system this time will result in a national disaster.

Stakeholders in this reform allegedly number nearly 4 million ― 320,000 existing pensioners, 1 million civil servants and their families. Their systematic and strong resistance might be understandable, given that the reform means depriving them of vested interests.

Almost all opinion polls show that about 60 to 70 percent of respondents support the reform. So it is not too much to say that the urgency of pension reform has won national consensus.

True, the current pension structure to ``pay less and receive more’’ is no longer tenable. The pension deficit amounted to 15 trillion won over the past decade, and the figure for the coming decade could reach 55 trillion won. Last year alone, the government had to make up for a 2.5 trillion won deficit from taxpayers’ money. Another failure to reform the civil servant pension scheme will result in passing these huge liabilities on to our descendants.

One often hears complaints, even from supporters of President Park Geun-hye: "What the hell has the incumbent administration done over the last two years since its inception?’’ At this juncture, the ruling camp needs to make a fresh start by carrying out pension reform without fail.

Park will appoint her new chief of staff soon to complete her Cheong Wa Dae lineup. But it is no exaggeration to say that the success of the new system will depend heavily on how the pension reform goes.