[칼럼]  Korea Story 25 - Society and Welfare 1  by Atty Jeong-kee Kim

(NewsKorea=Seoul) Digital News Team = Korea Story 25 - <Society and Welfare 1  by Atty Jeong-kee Kim>

● Can the Social Security System Ensure the Welfare of the People?

The Social Security System is defined as a system where the state addresses the difficulties faced by members of society due to illness, accidents, unemployment, and other issues through public support. According to the ‘Social Security Basic Act’, ‘social security’ refers to the social insurance, public assistance, and social services that provide income and services necessary to protect all citizens from social risks such as childbirth, child-rearing, unemployment, old age, disability, illness, poverty, and death, and to improve their quality of life.

In a democratic country, of course, the people are the members and subjects. That is why it is a democracy and a republic. Therefore, the state pursues the happiness of all its citizens, but not all its citizens are prosperous and happy. There are differences in the abilities of each citizen, and many people suffer because they lose or are unable to find a job due to disaster, disease, or various accidents, regardless of their will. The state and local governments must bear a specific and practical burden for these inevitable inequalities and various risks and misfortunes, as they are not only the responsibility of individual citizens but also the state and society. In particular, ‘social security’ can be said to guarantee the livelihood of individuals by providing a portion of public resources to the socially disadvantaged. 

The types of social security include social insurance, public assistance, and social welfare services. Social insurance encompasses industrial accident insurance, national pension, employment insurance, and health insurance, commonly known as the ‘four major insurances’, with long-term care insurance for the elderly adding up to the ‘five major insurances’. This system deals with various social risks in daily life through insurance, ensuring citizens' health and income. Insurance premiums are shared between the individual beneficiaries, employers (or self-employed), and the state. Premiums are calculated progressively based on the income of the beneficiaries, with the state covering part of the cost according to the relevant laws. Public assistance is a basic livelihood security system funded entirely by the state to ensure that people without the ability to support themselves can maintain a minimum standard of living. Social welfare services generally support vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, and are mostly non-economic welfare systems.

The core of the social security system is that the state takes responsibility for the life, health, and minimum income of citizens and guarantees their right to lead a decent life. While prioritizing the autonomy of each citizen, the state has an obligation to guarantee the basic minimum standard of living to protect human dignity. Responsibility for the various risks and misfortunes that each citizen unexpectedly experiences does not necessarily lie solely with that citizen. The correct and thorough operation of national policies, administration, and various systems has a great impact, both directly and indirectly. Therefore, neither the state nor society can ignore its responsibility. It is natural to ensure the livelihood of individuals by adding some of the public resources.

If the people's social security, that is, welfare policies, are well established, it becomes a welfare state. However, many loopholes are revealed everywhere, populism is rampant in the political world, especially during election season, and patronizing policies that promote various practical welfare benefits are in full swing. It is desirable for welfare policies for the people to become more diverse, but where do the costs come from? It doesn't come from politicians' pockets. It is all funded by national taxes. Our country’s debt exceeds 1,000 trillion won, and people are even calling us a ‘country of ancestors.’ These are all heavy burdens that young people bear. I would like to find out whether it is possible to guarantee basic livelihood for the people and what problems there are in our social security system.

Not all citizens are economically equal and fair. Many people face difficulties in life due to various reasons beyond their control. ‘Basic livelihood’ means that the state provides economic support through public assistance to ensure that even in difficult circumstances, a minimum standard of living is maintained to uphold citizens' dignity. In short, the state provides various welfare benefits for those in difficult situations. However, not all people in difficult circumstances are eligible. They must meet the conditions set by the ‘National Basic Livelihood Security Act’.

The most pressing social issue recently is ‘livelihood (民生)’. In the global era, with rising costs of living due to various domestic and international reasons, incomes are not increasing accordingly. This leads to an increasingly harsh life for citizens, significant economic pressure, and widespread feelings of loss and anger. Moreover, the younger generation, who struggle to find jobs, openly express their frustration, and various crimes, such as so-called ‘random crimes’, are on the rise. Even those who manage to find employment often leave due to low wages. Political parties, both ruling and opposition, are fighting over ‘livelihood solutions’, claiming it as their most urgent issue. However, they only criticize each other without presenting concrete measures. The government also prioritizes livelihood solutions and focuses its efforts, but there are still insufficient visible effects that satisfy the public.

The social safety net provided by the state to address serious poverty issues is extremely inadequate. The low-income and socially vulnerable groups receiving various welfare benefits under basic livelihood security make up less than 5% of the entire population. Is this really the case? Are there only this few people struggling to make ends meet?

Above all, the selection of basic livelihood recipients is difficult and complicated. Of course, not everyone can become a basic livelihood recipient just because it is difficult to make a living. Of course, many conditions must be met, and it is bound to be complicated for countries to set the standards. In addition, the living conditions of the poor can change at any time, as their income or assets increase. 

Even so, there are many problems in guaranteeing the people's basic livelihood. For example, there is much room for controversy regarding the person with the duty of support. Those obligated to support are usually children who must take care of their elderly parents who are unable to work. Any citizen who has no support obligations or is unable to provide support and whose recognized income is below the minimum cost of living receives government support. Although it is true that the abolished Livelihood Protection Act has improved many of the problems of those obligated to provide support, which were always controversial, there are still problems. Although they have the ability to support their children, they suddenly become separated from their parents or are unable to support them smoothly due to the obligatory caregiver's personal circumstances. Considering today's circumstances, it would be better to completely eliminate the requirement for support obligations.

Moreover, there are ambiguous and confusing criteria in the selection process for basic livelihood recipients, and many fraudulent claimants exploit these loopholes. Given the limited national budget, the prevalence of fraud makes proper operation difficult. It is essential to detect and exclude fraudulent claimants from the system.

What is more necessary is to raise the standard of the minimum cost of living. ‘Minimum cost of living’ refers to the minimum cost necessary for citizens to maintain a healthy and cultural life. Every year, the Minister of Health and Welfare comprehensively analyzes the people's income, expenditures, inflation rate, etc. and announces the minimum cost of living for the following year on September 1 of each year. As of 2023, the minimum cost of living is 1,246,735 won for a one-person household and 2,073,693 won for a two-person household. If you do not meet this minimum cost of living, you may become a recipient of basic livelihood security. Although the minimum cost of living fluctuates every year in consideration of price increases, etc., it falls far short of the expectations of citizens facing an economic crisis. We must boldly increase the minimum cost of living to increase the number of recipients of basic livelihood security. The national budget to guarantee people’s basic livelihood is only 18 trillion won per year. The national budget must be significantly increased.

In addition, transparent budget management is absolutely necessary. In the past, the Moon Jae-in administration expanded the give-and-run welfare policy to buy public support, greatly lowering the people's motivation to work through lax budget management and selfish behavior such as budget siphoning. There is an urgent need to come up with policy alternatives to overcome these wrong and erroneous practices.

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)