Tag: government

To be fair this is nothing new in modern societies with politicians using welfare handouts to get votes:

The government’s cash handouts as part of welfare benefits will reach a record W33 trillion next year (US$1=W1,130). The cash handouts for people in need have increased by W10 trillion in the two years since President Moon Jae-in came into office, with the total number of recipients reaching 10 million or one out of five citizens.

There are no fewer than 50 different types of welfare benefits ranging from basic pension payments for the 5.39 million elderly people to child benefits for 2.3 million people, living cost subsidies for 1.58 million low-income households and financial support for some 100,000 young jobseekers. Of course the government should provide for the needy, but the current administration’s cash welfare programs are like showering gifts of money on all comers.

In reality they are money for votes. Opposition parties do not want to sit idle and take the blows, and the Liberty Korea Party has already promised to boost next year’s proposed budget by W7 trillion to expand childcare support and others to keep up.  [Chosun Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

I'm sure it happens all the time in the Middle East and in former Soviet republics, but I never really put South Korea in the same category until recently.
This is the hallmark of an authoritarian state. Democracies don't behave this way. https://t.co/nYABICUFPs

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) October 27, 2018

It looks like the elderly people of South Korea might be the ones making the sacrifice to pay off Kim Jong-un:

Anchor: The government is reportedly mulling a set of reform measures to ensure the sustainable operation of the National Pension Fund, which is expected to run out of money around three years earlier than predicted. The reported measures are, however, drawing strong public criticism as they’re likely to increase the burden for subscribers.
Our Lee Bo-kyung has more.

Report: The Moon Jae-in administration is floating the idea of pension reform as the pension fund for salaried workers and the self-employed is expected to bottom out in 2057, about three years earlier than previously estimated.

An advisory panel on the national pension is set to release its reform proposals on Friday. The proposals reportedly include a move to extend the subscription period to the age of 65 from the current 60.

The committee also recommends the government increase premiums gradually from the current nine percent of a subscriber’s monthly income. Another step could be pushing back the payout age to 68.

After the plans were leaked in media reports last Friday, people began voicing outrage about the possible changes, posting over one thousand online petitions on the Web site of the presidential office.  [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like there will soon be a lot of job openings in the government sector of South Korea:

The government has pledged to create 810,000 jobs in the public sector as a means to help young people struggling in the tight job market.

The Presidential Committee on Job Creation unveiled the plan as part of a five-year road map Wednesday.

President Moon Jae-in, who presided over the meeting, said the nation’s top 30 business groups will increase hiring by 5.6 percent this year.

On top of creating more jobs on the public sector, Moon called for private companies to join the campaign to hire more employees. “Hyundai Motor converted 7,000 subcontractors into regular workers. KT, Hanwha, POSCO and Doosan Group will also join the campaign to create more jobs,” he said.

Moon said the government will support innovative companies that actively hire more young people.

Under the plan, the government will create 340,000 jobs in the social services sector. It will start by adding 170,000 jobs in child care and nursing this year, for which there is a high demand.

An additional 170,000 positions will be created in the culture, sports and environment sectors.

The government will add 100,000 more police officers, 74,000 position in firefighting, social welfare and livestock disease control, and 174,000 in local-level civil servants.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but the ROK government has no funding plan for this hiring spree which means it will likely just be deficit spending.

It will be interesting to see where this goes in regards to for example members of the media being covered by this bill even though they are not public servants:

Admitting to hastiness and poor preparation, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle vowed Wednesday to revise the controversial anti-graft law they passed only one day earlier.

The National Assembly Tuesday passed tough anti-corruption legislation after years of debate despite concerns that it would surely face constitutional challenges for its vagueness and overly wide scope.

On Wednesday, even lawmakers who voted the bill into law admitted a need for revisions. “We will listen to all the voices pointing to shortfalls with a humble attitude,” said Rep. Yoo Seong-min, floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party who participated in the negotiations with the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) over the law. “During the one and a half years of grace period before it takes effect, we will make necessary modifications.” According to the law, a public official will face criminal punishment for receiving money or favors worth more than 1 million won ($912) even if they are unrelated to his or her job. Beyond bribes, entertainment like expensive meals, golf games and paid vacations is also covered by the law. A wide range of professions including civil servants, legislators, teachers at private schools and employees of media companies are covered because the law considers the nature of their work “public.” Their spouses will also be covered.

In media companies, both journalists and people in non-journalism related jobs will be covered. NPAD Rep. Lee Sang-min, chairman of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, called the law “unconstitutional” and “unreasonable,” promising to make speedy revisions.

“Almost all lawmakers pointed to the law’s problems and they said it seemed unconstitutional,” Lee said in an interview with CBS radio. “The scope of the law was expanded unreasonably to the media and the private sector. The law was too ambiguous and it is destined to create many innocent victims.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the golf course and massage parlors in Korea must be in a panic about now.