Song Eon-seog accuses government of risking retirement security by diverting pension funds to stabilize currency amid investment concerns
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog criticized the government’s decision on the 25th to establish a four-party consultative body with the National Pension Service and others to stabilize the foreign exchange market, stating, “As the won-dollar exchange rate surged to 1,470 won, the government has ultimately resorted to tapping into the National Pension Service, the retirement assets of the entire nation.”
At a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the same day, Song said, “Mobilizing the National Pension Service to defend the exchange rate is akin to shifting the responsibility for the foreign exchange market instability caused by the current government’s blunders onto the retirement security of the entire population.”
He added, “The National Pension Service is neither a tool for the regime’s exchange rate stabilization nor a means to manage approval ratings.” He further criticized, “This is an irresponsible act of burdening the younger generation, whose future is already unstable due to concerns about the pension’s depletion, with the additional weight of stabilizing the foreign exchange market. There are significant public concerns that the government may mobilize the National Pension Service not only for the annual $20 billion cash investments in the U.S. but also for the $150 billion MASGA Project, $100 billion worth of energy purchases, and another $150 billion in corporate investments in the U.S., all to secure funding.”
Song emphasized, “The National Pension Service is the retirement livelihood fund for the entire population. I strongly urge the government not to compromise the public’s retirement security and future for the regime’s interests.”
Policy Committee Chairman Kim Do-eup announced that the party would “operate a bipartisan livelihood economy consultative body immediately after the 2025 budget bill is processed to push for the abolition of the yellow envelope bill (Labor Union Act 2·3 Clause Amendment Bill),” which the government preliminarily proposed the previous day.
He questioned, “Why is there such a discrepancy between the president’s words and the government’s policies?” He added, “President Lee Jae-myung met with business leaders and stated that businesses are the vanguard in resolving economic issues and that the government would do its utmost to minimize obstacles to corporate activities. However, the yellow envelope bill is a law that makes business activities themselves difficult.”
He reiterated the party’s commitment to abolish the yellow envelope bill, stating, “We must create the minimum conditions for businesses to challenge and grow freely. Only when businesses thrive can jobs increase, and only with more jobs can the livelihood economy recover.”
