The government will exclude the richest 30 percent of elderly citizens from its new pension program, officials said Wednesday, in a U-turn from President Park Geun-hye’s major campaign pledge to offer a universal and noncontributory benefit to all Korean nationals aged 65 and over.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare unveiled the scaled-down basic pension scheme ahead of Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, during which Park is expected to offer a public apology for failing to keep her campaign pledge that helped her win votes from seniors in the presidential election late last year.

According to the new basic state pension plan, up to 200,000 won ($185) will be given to seniors only from the poorest 70 percent in terms of income and assets. For instance, a single senior citizen with a monthly income of about 830,000 won, or a couple with 1.33 million won, will qualify to receive the full payment.

Fewer benefits, however, will be given to elderly citizens who have subscribed to the existing National Pension Service for more than 12 years, said officials who requested anonymity.

The government proposed to pay less to NPS subscribers because they are regarded as having a better social safety net than others.

The plan, however, is expected to draw fire from seniors who are excluded from the new plan and also particularly from young NPS subscribers who might pay into the pension system for the rest of their working lives for no extra benefit.

Citing a lack of income sources and the need to keep the system sustainable in the future, officials said the government had no choice but to cut the scale of the original plan.

Such a plan would impose an even bigger financial burden on later generations, considering the nation’s fast-growing aging population, they added.

During the election, Park pledged to offer a monthly pension of 200,000 won to all citizens aged 65 and over, regardless of income.

About 39.6 trillion won will be spent on the new pension program from July next year to 2017. The entire budget will be financed by taxes.

In the bottom 70 percent income group, about 9 out of 10, or 3.53 million people, will receive 200,000 won per month starting in July next year, they added.

The main opposition Democratic Party sharply criticized the president, arguing that her idea of expanding welfare benefits without a major increase in taxes had proved to be unrealistic.

“It has become clear that President Park’s idea of keeping the campaign promise without new income sources or a tax boost is fiction. We urge the president to come up with a new alternative plan to fulfill her campaign pledges,” said Rep. Chang Byoung-wan, chairman of DP’s policy committee.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)