President Lee Jae-myung said on the 20th that follow-up measures are needed for foreign nationals who made retroactive National Pension contributions before the law was changed. "The law has been revised so this can no longer be done going forward, but measures are needed for those who did it before," he said, signaling that the government should consider adjusting benefit payments for existing cases rather than stopping at the legal amendment restricting indiscriminate back-payments by foreign nationals.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House, Lee said, "For those who are receiving benefits by exploiting loopholes, I think their payments should be adjusted to match what they appropriately contributed."
The back-payment system allows subscribers to later pay premiums for periods when they could not make contributions due to job loss or leave, thereby extending their enrollment period. Controversy erupted after cases came to light in which a foreign national enrolled in the National Pension Service for just one month made back-payments covering 119 months of premiums to meet the eligibility requirements for benefits. An amendment to the National Pension Act restricting back-payments by foreign nationals subsequently passed the National Assembly and took effect on the 20th after Cabinet approval.
Lee said adjustments are needed on fairness grounds even for cases in which pension eligibility was secured through the back-payment system before the law was revised. "We could abolish the child allowance after having provided it. But people cannot say, 'You decided to give us the child allowance, so pay it for life,'" he said. "Some may think that those who made back-payments earlier should receive their full pension, but the result is inequitable. It is unjust."
"Someone is using loopholes to receive benefits beyond their contributions, drawing on pension resources that I paid in," he said. "If necessary, I think we can revise the statutes or revise the guidelines." He added that "if there is a legal problem, we should make adjustments even through legislation."
Health and Welfare Minister Jung Eun-kyeong responded that it is "difficult to characterize this as improper receipt of benefits or as illegal, given that the back-payment applications were filed and approved in accordance with the law," but added, "We will look into it further."