Yoon to push through labor, education, pension reforms

The presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul / Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to prioritize reforms in three sectors: labor, education and pensions. This will be his national agenda for next year, as his ratings have risen in recent public opinion polls following his bold reaction to the truckers' strikes.

According to the presidential office, it is considering the possibility of broadcasting Yoon's New Year message live on Jan. 1, in which Yoon will announce his policy direction for the second year of his presidency.

In the message, Yoon is anticipated to stress the necessity for labor, education and pension reforms. During a Dec. 21 town hall meeting, Yoon showed his resolve to push for these priorities, regardless of the public's support. “The three reforms may not be popular but have to be done for the sake of future generations and the future of the country,” he said. “2023 should be the first year of pursuing those reforms.”

Among the three, labor reform has already been set in motion.

On Dec. 12, the Future Labor Market Research Association, an expert group, which has been exploring the government's labor reform plan, announced its recommendation to the government, highlighted by pushing up the current 52-hour workweek to up to 69 hours per week by allowing users to manage overtime work hours on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly basis.

Following the recommendation, Labor Minister Lee Jung-sik wrote on Facebook, “We will come up with bills to carry out the recommended wage and workweek programs in the near future.”

Adding to the adjustment in the workweek scheme, the government is putting its focus on the financial transparency of unions.

“Corruption in labor unions is one of the top three corruptions that should be eradicated from society,” Yoon said during the Dec. 21 meeting. “The country's labor activities could progress only when transparent practices are in place in their finances.”

Following the president's remarks, the ruling party tabled a bill forcing unions having more than 300 members to submit their accounting records to the related administrative agency.

The recent uptick in Yoon's job approval rating is boosting his labor reform drive.

According to a Realmeter survey, Yoon's job approval rating stood at 41.2 percent in a poll of 2,518 adults conducted from Dec. 19 to 23. It was up 0.1 percentage point from Realmeter's previous survey the week before. Further details of the survey are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.

“Since the third week of November, the president's job approval rating is showcasing a solid trajectory,” an official at Realmeter said. “On a daily basis, the rating has not declined below 40 percent for two consecutive weeks, meaning that his approval rating is now stable.”

Yoon's approval rating has been increasing gradually following his hardline measures on the unionized truckers' strike last month. Pundits interpreted that Yoon's strong response helped remind the public of Yoon's pursuit of the rule of law and rallied conservatives.

President Yoon Suk-yeol touches his chin while listening to a briefing from the Presidential Committee of National Cohesion at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Dec. 21. Courtesy of presidential office

Compared to labor reforms, however, education and pension reforms still have a long way to go.

The government has so far suggested its blueprint for revamping the management of universities and colleges and allowing regional education offices to use national subsidies for universities. However, the government is yet to come up with detailed plans on how to carry out those projects.

In terms of pension reform, the government will begin forecasting the financial status of public pensions and social insurances in order to draw out medium and long-term roadmaps for sustainable pension programs. During this process, rumors are growing that the government may consider raising the official pension so as to improve the pension scheme's stability.

Tangible outcomes will likely not occur within the Yoon government, as the government is seeking to propose a pension reform roadmap by October next year. Yoon himself also predicts that the proposed outcomes will not be available until the end of his presidency.

The outcome of the three key reform agendas will likely influence the ruling party's campaign for the upcoming 2024 general election, because positive public sentiment on the president's job is affecting the support on the ruling side.

“The government's labor reform drive will likely get momentum and be advantageous for the ruling bloc because there seems to be a public consensus that the country's labor unions are militant,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.

“The problem is pension reform. Given there are rumors that the government may consider raising the age of those receiving pension benefits to improve the pensions' sustainability, this may trigger a public backlash.”