The government appears to be standing at a crossroads of whether to maintain its belt-tightening policy, as the budget is squeezed to revitalize the economy in the face of a deepening economic slowdown. According to the National Assembly Budget Office, Monday, tax revenue is estimated to decline by 6 trillion won ($4.61 billion) in 2023 from a year earlier.
A slowdown in economic growth is feared to result in a drop in personal incomes, and accordingly, can accelerate the depletion of state-run retirement pensions in the face of low birth rates and an aging population, a pension expert warned. During a recent interview with The Korea Times, Seoul National University economics professor Hong Sok-chul said the serious nature of a foreseeable drain in pension makes the Yoon Suk Yeol administration s pension reform of 2023 more “crucial than ever.”
The government will begin earnest discussions to boost the sustainability of the national health insurance system and plans to unveil reform measures by September.
South Korea to unveil national pension reform plan in October pulsenews.co.kr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pulsenews.co.kr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The ratio of national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) in Korea is rising fast, and it will grow more than 2.5 times as much as the combined average of the ratios of the world s 35 advanced economies between 2017 and 2022, a government source said Sunday on condition of anonymity. Citing data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the source said that the national debt-to-GDP ratio of Korea will increase from 40.1 percent to 54.1 percent during the 2017-2022 period.