ARIRANG NEWS 14:00 Ruling party pushes ahead with pension reform plan

ARIRANG NEWS 14:00 It′s Tuesday, October 28th, here in Korea. Coming to you live from Seoul, I′m Hwang Ji-hye, filling in for Laah Hyun-kyung this week. These are the stories... we′re following at this hour... Reform of the public servants′ pension system continues to stir controversy... President Park is pushing the passage of a plan to delay pension payouts for public servants by five years... until they turn 65,... despite protests from the government employee union. Korea′s household and corporate debt levels have ballooned so much that consumers and companies have no room to increase consumption or investment. Korean construction companies are making inroads into Southeast Asian markets,... especially in Malaysia,... where they′re building some of the highest skyscrapers in the country. Title: Ruling party pushes ahead with pension reform plan We start off with the heated national debate over reforming the pension program for public servants. While President Park Geun-hye hopes to see passage of the revisions by the end of the year,... the main opposition party and government workers say the plan represents a change for the worst. Out Ji Myung-kil has more. The ruling Saenuri Party is moving to reduce the deficit in the pension program for government employees by launching a new pension system for public servants starting in 2016. The reform plan centers on increasing the age that payments can be received from 60 to 65 by the year 2031. President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called for the reform bill to be passed by the end of the year, adding that a delay will place a greater burden on future generations. "We can only ask the public for understanding. At the current rate, the government will be spending 1-point-9 trillion U.S. dollars in 2080 to meet the shortfall from the civil servants′ pension program." Pension reform was a key part of the president′s three-year economic innovation plan announced in February. According to the ruling party’s calculations, the plan will save the government 95 billion U.S. dollars in the first 12 years after its implementation starting in 2016. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy is taking a more cautious approach to the proposal, with members voicing their reservations. "The proposed pension reforms by the ruling Saenuri Party and the government represent a change for the worse. Instead of narrowing the payment gap between better paid and poorly paid officials, all retirees from the public sector will be paid less." The government employees′ union declared it is launching a national campaign to resist the reforms, with a demonstration slated for November 1st. Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News. Title: Korea′s high debt threatens consumption and investment Public and private debt is piling up within the domestic economy. The total amount has gotten so high, in fact,... that it now threatens to take a bite out of consumption and investment. Kim Ji-