<Anchor> We
will pick out and deliver information that is useful for life.
Friendly Economy Today (11th) will also be with reporter Kim Hye-min.
Reporter Kim, I think it's very pleasant news. Will the National Pension Plan rise this month?
<Reporter>
Yes, as you know, the amount you pay for the national pension increases, but the amount you receive and the amount you receive also increase in January every year.
To prevent the value of your money from falling off while you are receiving an annuity.
So how much to raise the pension receipt, this is the rate of change in consumer prices across the country that the National Statistical Office publishes every year. Last year’s inflation rate The National Statistical Office recently announced that it rose 0.5%.
Accordingly, the amount of national pension receipts has also increased by 0.5% this time.
Currently, there are 4.43 million people receiving the national pension in Korea, and the basic pension amount rises by 2,690 won per month on average.
Those who have joined for more than 20 years average 4,650 won per month.
If you have dependents, the pension amount for dependents also increases. On an annual basis, the pension amount for spouses increases by 1,300 won.
For children or parents, 870 won will be increased.
Although the amount of the increase is not actually a significant decrease.
<Anchor>
No, it was nice that the pension was going up, but it was a little bit like that when I saw it rising, it means that in the end, it will rise as much as the inflation rate announced by the National Statistical Office.
But the difference between the inflation rate we feel and the inflation rate is a little too big.
<Reporter>
Yes, it is a part that everyone feels alike.
Looking at the recent consumer price trend released by the National Statistical Office, it was announced that it rose 0.4% last year and 0.5% last year.
Last year's figures were the lowest ever.
It is said to be the first time since the statistics were written in the 0% range for two consecutive years.
When I looked for the reason why the inflation rate was so low, the impact of the fall in international oil prices was large.
Gas station oil prices have fallen a lot this year, and now they are rising little by little.
Petroleum prices have fallen by 7.4%.
Because of this low oil price, electricity, water, and gas bills also went down.
The government's welfare policy also had a big impact.
Last year, we provided 20,000 won for communication to the entire public.
So, mobile phone charges fell 3.3%.
Inflation in the public service sector also fell 1.9% due to free high school education.
<Anchor>
So, overall, it's like this. Then, why are there some things like this that we can feel directly?
How about that?
<Reporter>
Prices of agricultural, livestock, and fishery products, which are typically referred to as table prices, rose 6.7%.
It's the highest since 2011, especially the ingredients for food that people in Korea use as staple food have risen significantly.
The kimchi ingredient, Chinese cabbage, jumped 40%.
Rice prices rose by 11.5%.
It is said that this is because the price rose significantly as the rainy season prolonged last year.
Also, pork, which the common people eat a lot, has risen more than 10%.
In this way, the perceived price of the people has risen much more, but the fact that only 0.5% of the national pension receipts has increased this year raises questions about whether the gap between them is too large or whether the standards for raising the payments are appropriate.
Listen to expert opinion.
[Tae-yoon Seong/Professor, Faculty of Economics, Yonsei University: Current price fluctuations in life-related funds, including pensions, have no choice but to reflect the overall level of inflation, but it is necessary to consider some of the changes in living prices and perceived prices.]
<Anchor>
It may seem complicated, but in a nutshell, there is a big difference between the inflation rate we feel now and the inflation rate announced by the government.
Is there any way to improve this?
<Reporter>
As explained above, the government spent a lot of welfare expenses last year.
This part brings out the entire price.
The Bank of Korea released a data not long ago, and it pointed out that "as the government's welfare policy is reflected in prices, the actual price flow judgment is disturbed."
There is also a'managed price', which refers to items that influence the price decision due to disaster subsidies and government subsidies such as free meals.
In Korea, this managed price accounts for 20% of the total consumer price.
It is the second highest level in the world after Switzerland.
So, excluding this management price, which causes an optical illusion, we need to calculate the Korean consumer price increase rate so that we can see the level of inflation that consumers actually experience.
The National Statistical Office's inflation rate plays a large role in determining the future economic policy direction, and there seems to be a need for a more realistic change.