People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and New Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok on Friday offered similar views on energy policy plans and pension reform goals.
During a televised debate that kicked-off at 8 p.m., Kim stressed the importance of further utilizing nuclear power as the country’s main source of energy.
“Because the previous Moon Jae-in administration pushed policies focused on phase-out of nuclear power, the nuclear ecosystem here has collapsed,” Kim said. “This led to damages amounting to trillions of (Korean) won.”
Kim called nuclear energy essential for supporting the expansion of high-tech industries such as artificial intelligence. It would provide a “cheap and stable” source of energy for such industries. A system to generate renewable energy will be pursued in tandem, he added.
Lee of the Reform Party also criticized the liberal bloc’s stance pushing for the phase-out of nuclear power, calling for “reasonable climate policies based on science and common sense and aligned with the global standards.
On the issue of national pension reform, the two candidates pledged to prioritize “alleviating the burden of the future generation” in pursuing change.
“The latest pension reform has a problem and was met by backlash from the young Koreans (mostly in their 20s and 30s) – I plan to immediately launch a second reform (when I’m elected),” Kim said.
Lee called the latest pension reform -- the first structural change implemented by the government in 18 years – “fake.”
“It’s a fake reform that changed only the numbers and did not touch on the structure,” Lee criticized, adding that the new system places a long-term financial burden on young Koreans, while the older generations “get more.”
In addition, he proposed the system into two separate tracks for seniors and younger workers.
In March, the National Assembly voted to reform the national pension system after nearly two decades, in a bid to delay the depletion of the pension fund by nine years.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
