Yoon fails to address '4+1 Reforms' core issues in third-year update

In his third press conference since taking office on Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol emphasized his commitment to completing the '4+1 reforms'—addressing pensions, education, labor, healthcare, and overcoming the demographic crisis. After taking office, the three reform initiatives—pension, education, and labor—were presented as key priorities in his first State-of-the-Nation Address, with healthcare reform and the demographic crisis added this year. If the goal is to complete these reforms within his term, this press conference, now in the third year of his administration, should have been an opportunity to explain the progress and challenges of the reforms and to seek public cooperation. However, while phrases like “reform is a desperate task” and “we will not take the easy way out” were plentiful, the substance was lacking.

The government's top reform priority is pension reform. President Yoon proposed that the state legally guarantee pension payments, differentiate premium increases across generations, and introduce an automatic fiscal stabilization tool in case the fund runs out of money. However, he did not address the key question of how much people will pay and how much they will receive in retirement. Pension reform has stalled despite losing more than 100 billion won every day because the government has failed to address this core issue. Instead of resolving the stagnation in pension reform, the government is adding side issues that require further discussion, which only diminishes the momentum for reform.

Healthcare reform, which started later among the four major reforms, has caused problems due to its hasty implementation. After the announcement of 'adding 2,000 slots for medical schools' exacerbated the healthcare crisis, the National Assembly attempted to mediate between the government and doctors. However, the president shut down further discussion, stating, “The medical school slot expansion is finalized.” When asked, ‘Contrary to the presidential office's explanation, the medical field has reached its limits,' the president retorted, “Go see the healthcare scene.”

On Thursday, Yoon cited enforcing the 'rule of law' for unions, such as cracking down on illegal union activities, as his labor reform accomplishments, which was implemented during his first year in office. However, he did not propose any plans to reform the dual labor market structure or raise the retirement age. Nor did he address the critical and challenging issues of education reform: strengthening public education, addressing private tutoring, improving university competitiveness, and restructuring failing universities.

President Yoon emphasized that overcoming the demographic crisis is difficult without the four reforms. However, the reforms have been stalled without significant progress, leading to public fatigue. At the press conference on his 100th day in office, the president stated that he would “push ahead with the reforms regardless of political advantages or disadvantages.” To understand why he is reiterating this pledge in the third year of his presidency, we need to examine the overall government operation. He cannot end his five-year term empty-handed.