Pension Reform Scramble

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With three days left before the civil service pension reform committee wraps up its activities, the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy has laid out its own plan. Here’s more on the pension reform schemes that have been proposed so far.

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The average monthly wage of low-ranking public servants who have served for 30 years is around 27-hundred dollars. Each of them pays about 190 U.S. dollars in monthly pension contributions. After retirement, they will receive a monthly pension of roughly 1550 dollars. The ruling party has proposed that public servants pay around 272 dollars a month in pension contributions, and receive about 1,250 dollars a month after retirement. In other words, they will pay more but receive less. The ruling party's plan is similar to that of the government. By contrast, the main opposition party has proposed a relatively generous solution. Public servants will pay around 190 to 245 dollars in monthly pension contributions and receive 1390 to 1550 dollars after retirement. This is the reason the ruling party is also calling for realistic retirement allowances in order to compensate public servants' incomes. Both parties agree that without a pension reform the government's financial burden will grow out of proportion. If the pension law remains unchanged, the government would have to inject an additional 19 billion dollars a year by 2030. By 2080 the accumulated cost would reach 1.8 trillion dollars. The pension reform committee will soon announce the impact of each of the proposed four schemes on the lives of public officials and their cost-saving effects.

2. Government Loans

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Financial authorities are considering making new government-backed fixed-rate loans available at non-banking institutions, in consideration of the program’s explosive popularity. However, some observers are raising concerns about snowballing household debt. Here’s more.

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Long lines have formed at banks for the second straight day. The monthly limit set for a new government-backed, long-term, fixed-rate loan plan was exhausted on the day of its launch. Half of the limit for this year was taken out by the end of the second day. Many people issued complaints over their ineligibility for the new loans.

[Soundbite] "Are only apartments considered property? What about farming land?"

The government is considering making the new loan scheme available at non-banking financial institutions like community credit cooperatives, as the exclusion puts some people at a disadvantage. The ratio of debt to disposable income has hit a record high of 138 percent. It indicates that South Korean households have, on average, debts 38 percent greater than the money they can spend in a year. Household debt is snowballing. Some critics say that the new government-backed fixed-rate loan program is not sufficient to resolve the growing household debt issue fundamentally, even if it is expanded to non-banking financial institutions.

3. Fatal Accident

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An accident at a road construction site in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province left one construction worker killed and several others injured. It’s believed that the accident occurred when one of the structures collapsed under the weight of concrete.

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An excavator digs through a pile of construction materials and pieces of concrete under the collapsed bridge deck. Rescue efforts continued through the night with hopes of finding the workers still buried in the rubble. The accident occurred at 5:20 p.m. on Wednesday at the construction site of a 27-meter-long bridge. The structure collapsed in the middle when about a thousand cubic meters of concrete were being poured into the mold of the bridge deck. The steel structure presumably collapsed under the weight of the concrete.

[Soundbite] Seo Seok-kwon (Chief, Yongin Fire Dept.) : "This structure props up the bridge deck. When it collapsed, the workers who were working on the deck at the time fell with it."

Seven of the 16 workers who were at the edge of the construction site were able to escape. The remaining nine workers fell about ten meters down. The emergency crew rescued most of the buried workers, but one 68-year-old was found dead. The police plan to summon the construction site officials to find out if safety regulations were kept and apply criminal charges if any violations are found.

4. Economic Disconnect

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South Korea's per-capita gross national income surpassed 28,000 U.S. dollars last year. But many people don’t feel this statistic in their everyday lives. Today, we investigate why the growth in gross national income does not create palpable changes in people's lives.

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Pyeon Soo-won is the head of a single-income family with two children. News that South Korea's per capita income is approaching 30,000 U.S. dollars feels far from tangible.

[Soundbite] Pyeon Soo-won (Office Worker) : "It's nonsense. I am in the red every month. The only thing that grows is my debt."

South Korea's gross national income per-capita exceeded 28,000 U.S. dollars last year, a growth of more than 7 percent year-on-year. Despite the increased national income, the quality of life has not improved because of a rise in non-consumption expenditures, or money that must be paid upon one's earnings. Household income has grown 50 percent in 10 years since 2004. However, non-consumption expenditure, including taxes and social insurance premiums, have surged by 235 percent. Moreover, household income's representation in the total gross national income fell to 62 percent, while the proportion of corporate income jumped to 23 percent.

[Soundbite] Lee Joon-hyup (Hyundai Research Institute) : "People feel that their household finances are tight because their invariable expenditures are so large."

Ordinary people's lives have not improved in line with the growth in national income, as their financial burdens have increased as well, while corporations account for a larger part of the total.

5. Spring Cleaning

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Bam Islet on the Han River is known as a stopover for migratory birds, but the birds’ temporary home is severely polluted with their own waste, so a massive cleanup operation took place there ahead of the spring breeding season.

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Bam Islet is located under the Seogang Bridge on the Han River. It is a rare example of a migratory birds' stopover in the heart of a metropolis that's home to dozens of species including ones that are endangered such as the white-tailed sea eagle. In recognition of its high value, in 2012, the islet became the first in Seoul to be included in the list of wetlands protected by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. But now the islet is blanketed in waste that looks like piles of snow. The waste is the excrement of a migratory bird species called the cormorant. The population of cormorants on Bam Islet was recorded at just 420 in 2010, but it has more than tripled in recent years, as has the amount of its excrement.

[Soundbite] Kim Ki-hyun (Hangang Park, Seoul Metropolitan Gov't) : "Cormorants living in fresh water dry their feathers while excreting. Their feces are white."

Recently a massive cleanup was held on the islet to wash away the birds' waste. Even boats were deployed to clean the islet ahead of the spring breeding season, which begins next month. The Seoul Metropolitan Government hopes that the cleanup will promote trees' growth and contribute to improving the breeding environment of other bird species.

6. Mind the Temperature Gap

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Despite the harbingers of spring, the weather is still chilly in the morning and evening. People should take extra care not to come down with bronchitis during this seasonal change when the daily temperature gap is so big.

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A few days ago, this two-year-old baby began showing symptoms of a cold, including fever, phlegm and coughing. Medication has done little to improve his condition. His coughing has gotten worse, and he has developed a wheeze in his breath.

[Soundbite] Cho Hyang-rin (Seocho District, Seoul): The coughing is frequent and lasts for long periods. He really had a hard time.

The child was diagnosed with acute bronchitis, an infection of the bronchial tubes that makes breathing difficult. Acute bronchitis becomes common in March and April when the daily temperature gap s are large, and bouts of yellow dust and ultra-fine dust become frequent. Last year, 37 percent of 15 million patients who saw doctors for acute bronchitis were diagnosed during this period. It is best to consult a doctor and receive an exact diagnosis if severe coughing persists long enough to cause chest pain, or if breathing is difficult due to a build-up of phlegm. To prevent viral infections, the most important preventative measures include drinking plenty of water and maintaining personal hygiene through frequent hand washing.

7. Taekwondo Class Row

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The new school term has begun in Korea and some elementary schools in Seoul added the homegrown martial art Taekwondo to their regular curricula, a measure met with strong protest from private Taekwondo academies operating nearby. Many schools buckled under pressure and cancelled their classes.

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This is an elementary school in Seoul. It included Taekwondo class in its third and sixth grade curricula for the first time this year, but had to cancel the program earlier this month. The reversal came in the wake of strong protests from the directors of private Taekwondo academies near the school, who claimed that the school's Taekwondo program would threaten their survival. The directors held protests when children were coming to school. They also visited the principal in groups to lodge their complaints.

[Soundbite] (Principal of 00 Elementary School) : "We couldn't work because we got so many complaint calls. It was really hard."

Group petitions were sent to the district education office as well. However, the Taekwondo instructors argued that they had asked for a delay of the program, never for its cancellation. They claimed that they were concerned about the quality of the Taekwondo classes.

[Soundbite] Kim Han-chang (Protesting Taekwondo Instructor) : "Professional instructors were excluded from the program. We opposed hiring of non-professionals, who don't even have a level 3 certificate."

The schools that have included Taekwondo in their curricula have caved in to the pressure of local Taekwondo instructors and gave up a formal school program voted in by the parents.

8. Entertainment News

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"Kingsman: The Secret Service" was a surprise smash hit in Korea. The movie's cast members and production staff thanked Korean fans and said that if there was ever a sequel, they would like to film it in Korea. This and more to come in today's show biz news.

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British spy flick "Kingsman: The Secret Service" sold more than 5.4 million tickets in Korea. Korea was the film's highest-grossing market outside of North America. Surprised by the unexpected popularity, the movie's stars and production staff thanked Korean fans for their support.

[Soundbite] Taron Egerton (Star of "Kingsman") : "Manners make the man."

Director Matthew Vaughn even said that he would like to shoot some segments of the film's sequel in Korea.

[Soundbite] Matthew Vaughn (Director of "Kingsman") : "Actress Lee Young-ae has decided to appear in a TV series 11 years after her last starring role. Group Eight, the show's production company, announced that Lee will star in "Saimdang: The Herstory" slated to air next year. She is to play two roles as an art history instructor in college and the historical figure Shin Saimdang. Actress Kim So-hyun was chosen to star in the new KBS Monday-Tuesday drama, "Who Are You - 2015." Kim will play a teenager who transforms overnight from a bullied loser to the most popular girl in school. The first episode of "Who Are You - 2015" will air on April 27th."

9. Twin & Triplet Trend

[Anchor Lead]

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" was a surprise smash hit in Korea. The movie's cast members and production staff thanked Korean fans and said that if there was ever a sequel, they would like to film it in Korea. This and more to come in today's show biz news.

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Daehan, Minguk and Manse are the names of the most famous triplets in Korea at the moment, the children of a well known actor. Their growing popularity has generated a twin and triplet boom in the country.

[Soundbite] Yeo Mi-gyeong (Mapo District, Seoul) : "The triplets are so cute. It's fun just seeing them together."

[Soundbite] Moon Na-na (Mapo District, Seoul) : "When I see twins, I want to raise them too."

Our KBS crew paid a visit to a home raising twins. 13 months old, Dongbin and Dongeun are just one minute apart.

[Soundbite] Joo Seon-hye (Mother of Twins) : "Public interest in twins is so high. I feel there is a twin boom for sure."

But there's another reason behind the twin sensation.

[Soundbite] Han Ji-yeong (Suwon, Gyeonggi Prov.) : "When both parents need to work, raising one child and then another is a big investment of time. It's a burden."

Ovulation induction or superovulation is sometimes used a method to treat infertility. However, some women who would have no trouble getting pregnant the natural way have these shots administered to improve their chances of having twins or triplets.

[Soundbite] Yang Jae-hyeok (Gynecologist) : "Superovulation injections are by no means shots to create twins. They can be used depending on a patient's condition when ovulation induction is deemed necessary."

If normal child bearing women misuse these ovulation inducing chemicals or injections, it can be harmful.

[Soundbite] Prof. Jeon Dong-soo (Soonchunhyang Univ. Bucheon Hospital) : "Superovulation induction can increase follicles and cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, with symptoms including abdominal pain/distention and vomiting. It can even be life threatening in some cases."

Recently an Oriental medicine practitioner has in fact been referred to an ethics committee for selling herbal medicine at a steep price and claiming it helps to bear twins. So while twins and triplets can seem to multiply the blessings of childbirth, parents shouldn't rush to use drugs that are meant to treat infertility and recognize the joys of having children one by one.