Ministry of Health and Welfare launches task force to review fairness of social security system
![Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong (fourth from left, back row) presides over the first meeting of the Health and Welfare Normalization Task Force at Conference House Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 7. [Ministry of Health and Welfare]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/16/news-p.v1.20260916.84a98f581c504dff82cefd71b9f9c352_P1.jpg)
The Ministry of Health and Welfare held the second meeting of its Health and Welfare Normalization Task Force — also serving as the inaugural meeting of a newly launched Social Security Fairness Review and Improvement Committee — on Wednesday at Conference House Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul.
The meeting reviewed the progress of first-round normalization tasks selected through the task force's initial session and consultations with the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and discussed a set of newly identified second-round candidate tasks gathered through working-level official discussions and public suggestion channels.
One key item on the agenda was reforming how the national pension's catch-up payment system applies to foreign nationals. While foreigners are currently eligible to make catch-up contributions to the national pension, many of their home countries do not operate equivalent systems. The meeting discussed applying the reciprocity principle — already in place for mandatory enrollment and lump-sum refund provisions — to the catch-up payment system as well.
The meeting also took up the question of equity for people with dual nationality or those who have lived abroad for extended periods and then entered South Korea to claim basic pension benefits. Participants discussed imposing a minimum domestic residency requirement for basic pension eligibility, citing fairness concerns relative to citizens who have lived in South Korea and consistently met their tax obligations.
The ministry said it will incorporate feedback from internal and external experts presented at the meeting, refine the candidate tasks, and then consult with the Office for Government Policy Coordination and related ministries before finalizing the second-round normalization tasks.
Once finalized, tasks that can be addressed through internal guidelines will be implemented immediately, while those requiring amendments to enforcement decrees or other legislation will be pursued with a target of completion by year's end.
The normalization initiative is part of a broader government normalization project aimed at identifying and correcting irregular practices, entrenched illegal or improper conduct, and flawed systems in the health and welfare sector.
The Health and Welfare Normalization Task Force, the body overseeing these reform discussions, is chaired by the welfare minister and composed of private-sector experts and government representatives.
The Social Security Fairness Review and Improvement Committee, launched at Wednesday's meeting, will be chaired by the welfare minister and operate as a consultative body comprising six working groups and staff from operational and public-inquiry divisions of key affiliated public institutions.
The committee will review social insurance, social security benefits and other programs where current rules are seen as out of step with public expectations. Drawing on reform proposals identified through the government normalization project and field suggestions from major affiliated public institutions, it will focus on loopholes and evasion, improper conduct and unjust gains, and repeat complaint cases.
"Together with the Health and Welfare Normalization Task Force, we will again carefully examine whether there are any systemic loopholes that run counter to common sense and the principle of fairness," Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong said. "Going forward, the ministry will continue working to improve the social security system in a precise and fair manner that meets the public's expectations."
thlee@heraldcorp.com
