Lawmakers Urge Government to Again Present Scenarios for State Fund Injection and Revenue Stabilization

On Thursday, lawmakers from the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Pension Reform called on the relevant ministries to again present scenarios for injecting state funds and plans to stabilize revenue, as they expressed concerns over the potential depletion of the National Pension Service (NPS) fund. The discussion was sparked by a significant 19-year discrepancy in forecasts between ministries; while the Ministry of Health and Welfare claims the fund depletion has been delayed until 2083, data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance lists 2064 as the expected year.

Voice also came from the opposition. Opposition floor leader Rep. An Sang-hoon of the People Power Party explained the background, saying, "During the last pension reform, the Democratic Party talked about state injection. While we are opposed in principle, we told them to bring a scenario at least." He added, "If they are going to inject state funds, they need to coordinate with fiscal authorities to verify if it is sustainable and explain it to the committee along with a 70-year financial management plan, yet every time they tell different stories and the numbers are different."

Rep. Oh Gi-hyeong, noting that concerns over fund depletion are a shared problem across party lines, called for a credible explanation regarding the necessity of state injection. Rep. Kim Yong-tae criticized Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong for the delay in submitting a fiscal stabilization scenario, labeling it as dereliction of duty regarding the 2030 generation.