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진영 보건복지부장관이 박근혜대통령과 정홍원국무총리의 만류에도 사퇴 의사를 굽히지 않고 있어 논란이 일고 있다
진 장관은 국민연금과 연계한 기초연금 정부안이 자신의 소신과 다르기 때문이라고 밝혀 그간 제기된 청와대와의 갈등설을 인정했다.
진 장관은 29일 낮 서울 신사동 캐롤라인빌딩에서 열린 장관실 직원 결혼식에 참석해 기자들과 만나 “그만 사의를 허락해 달라”고 말해 복귀 의사가 없음을 분명히 했다.
진 장관이 정홍원 국무총리의 두번에 걸친 사표 반려와 28일 업무복귀 촉구에도 불구하고 사퇴 결심을 굽히지 않은데다 기초연금안을 둘러싼 청와대와의 갈등을 공식적으로 인정함에 따라 진 장관 사퇴파동은 새 정부의 인사파동으로 확산될 조짐이다.
진 장관은 “기초연금을 국민연금과 연계하는데 반대했고 지금도 그런 생각을 갖고 있다”며 “이런 뜻을 청와대에도 여러 차례 전달했다”고 말했다.
그는 이어 “그동안 제가 반대해왔던 기초연금안에 대해 제가 장관으로서 어떻게 국민을, 국회와 야당을 설득할 수 있겠느냐”면서 “이것은 양심의 문제”라고 강조했다.
진 장관은 특히 기초연금 문제와 관련해 박근혜 대통령과 대화를 나눈적이 있느냐는 질문에 “그부분에 대해서는 뭐라고 말하기 어려운데...”라면서 “그런 의견을 충분히 개진했다”고 말했다.
진 장관은 그러면서도 “박근혜 대통령과 저는 생각이 다른 적도 있었지만 박근혜 정부의 성공을 위해 모든 노력을 다해야 한다는 정치적 책임감에는 한순간도 변함이 없었다”면서 “다시 국회로 돌아가서 박근혜 정부의 성공을 위해 최선을 다하겠다”고 말했다.
그는 향후 거취에 대해서는 “서울시장은 생각도 안해봤고, 국회에서 할 일이 많다”면서 “어쨌든 국회에 가서 대선공약실천위원회라도 만들어서 국회 차원에서 역할할 생각”이라고 말했다.
한편 청와대는 기초연금 축소 등 복지공야 후퇴 논란을 잠재우기 위해 적극 해명에 나섰다.
최원영 고용복지수석은 일요일 “정부의 기초연금안이 발표된 이후 일부에서 오해하거나 잘못 이야기되고 있는 것에 대해 그 사실을 자세히 설명하겠다”며 일각의 ‘국민연금 장기가입시 손해’ 주장 등 4가지 항목에대해 상세히 해명, 반박했다.
최 수석은 “국민연금을 장기가입해 보험료를 성실하게 납부하는 사람이 손해를 본다는 것은 결코 사실이 아니라는 것을 말씀드린다”며 “국민연금은 국민연금법에 따라 이미 받도록 돼 있는 것을 아무런 변화없이 그대로 모두 다 받으면서 거기에 기초연금을 추가로 해 드리는 것이기 때문에 국민연금에 오래 가입하면 할수록 총 연금이 더욱 많아져서 이득을 보게된다”고 말했다.
또 “지금의 청장년 세대 등 미래세대가 현재의 노인세대보다도 불리하다는 말도 결코 사실이 아니다”며 “세대별로 받게될 기초연금의 평균 수급액을 산출해보면 후세대가 더 많은 기초연금을 받도록 설계돼 있다”고 강조했다.
특히 그는 기초연금의 국민연금과의 연계 논란에 대해 “기초노령연금은 국민연금이 성숙하더라도 그것과 관계없이 별도로 제도가 운용되도록 돼 있다”며 “따라서 향후 초고령사회를 앞두고 있는 현실에서 기초노령연금에 대한 국가의 재정부담이 막대해지고, 그로 인해 후세대까지도 너무나 과도한 부담을 지우게 되는 문제를 안고 있는 시스템”이라고 지적했다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Welfare minister defiant of president’s call to return to work
By Choi He-suk
Minister of Health and Welfare Chin Young on Sunday defied President Park Geun-hye’s order to stay in office after he offered to resign last week in an apparent feud over the government’s recent rollback of key welfare programs.
He told reporters that he will not return to work because his conscience will not allow him to stay in office while the government reneges on its promise on basic pension plan, in which he was actively involved.
“How can I persuade the public, the parliament and the opposition party about the basic pension plan I have been opposing? This is an issue (concerning) my conscience before being a minister,” Chin said.
“I have done my best to bring about the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration in the past two years, and I hope (the president) will now give me permission to step down. I want to rest a little.”
He added that his sense of duty in supporting the Park Geun-hye administration remains unchanged and that he hopes to return to the parliament to support the president as a legislator. Chin is currently serving his third term as a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker.
Talks of Chin’s intentions to resign rose earlier this month along with speculations about the Park Geun-hye administration’s plans to scale back the basic pension system for senior citizens.
On Sept. 25, some days after rumors arose, Chin stated that he felt that it was difficult for him to continue serving in his current post.
Since Chin’s intentions were made known, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has attempted to play down related reports, and called for him to resume his duties.
The welfare minister, however, responded with a statement Friday saying that he was resigning as he felt responsible through his office in the parliament.
Although Park had pledged to provide all seniors with 200,000 won ($186) per month in basic pension during her campaign, the plans have since been altered, reducing the number of beneficiaries and the monthly payout.
The revised plans exclude seniors in the top 30 percent in terms of income, and the payment will vary according to the amount that recipients contributed to the pension scheme.
The changes have prompted severe criticism from opposition parties and senior citizens. The presidential office has been trying to contain the fallout, with the president promising to keep her pledge during her term while her aides defend the plans.
“It is untrue that people who have paid the National Pension payments for longer will lose out,” senior employment and welfare secretary Choi Won-young said Sunday.
“The basic pension is provided in addition to the National Pension, so total pension gets larger the longer you are registered in the national pension system.”
(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
Welfare minister defiant of president’s call to return to work
By Choi He-suk
Minister of Health and Welfare Chin Young on Sunday defied President Park Geun-hye’s order to stay in office after he offered to resign last week in an apparent feud over the government’s recent rollback of key welfare programs.
He told reporters that he will not return to work because his conscience will not allow him to stay in office while the government reneges on its promise on basic pension plan, in which he was actively involved.
“How can I persuade the public, the parliament and the opposition party about the basic pension plan I have been opposing? This is an issue (concerning) my conscience before being a minister,” Chin said.
“I have done my best to bring about the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration in the past two years, and I hope (the president) will now give me permission to step down. I want to rest a little.”
He added that his sense of duty in supporting the Park Geun-hye administration remains unchanged and that he hopes to return to the parliament to support the president as a legislator. Chin is currently serving his third term as a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker.
Talks of Chin’s intentions to resign rose earlier this month along with speculations about the Park Geun-hye administration’s plans to scale back the basic pension system for senior citizens.
On Sept. 25, some days after rumors arose, Chin stated that he felt that it was difficult for him to continue serving in his current post.
Since Chin’s intentions were made known, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has attempted to play down related reports, and called for him to resume his duties.
The welfare minister, however, responded with a statement Friday saying that he was resigning as he felt responsible through his office in the parliament.
Although Park had pledged to provide all seniors with 200,000 won ($186) per month in basic pension during her campaign, the plans have since been altered, reducing the number of beneficiaries and the monthly payout.
The revised plans exclude seniors in the top 30 percent in terms of income, and the payment will vary according to the amount that recipients contributed to the pension scheme.
The changes have prompted severe criticism from opposition parties and senior citizens. The presidential office has been trying to contain the fallout, with the president promising to keep her pledge during her term while her aides defend the plans.
“It is untrue that people who have paid the National Pension payments for longer will lose out,” senior employment and welfare secretary Choi Won-young said Sunday.
“The basic pension is provided in addition to the National Pension, so total pension gets larger the longer you are registered in the national pension system.”
(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
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