The health ministry has stressed the need for swift parametric reforms to the national pension system, saying February is the best time to pursue those changes. 

Ministry spokesperson Jung Ho-won said in a press briefing Thursday that the National Assembly is currently holding active discussions on pension reform and February is considered the golden time to act. 

Jung said efforts are underway to reach an agreement on parametric reforms to the national pension system for the first time in 26 years, expressing hope that such reforms are realized swiftly and take the right direction. 

During the 21st National Assembly, the rival camps failed to reach an agreement on a motion to set the national pension premium rate at 13 percent and the income replacement rate between 43 percent and 45 percent. 

In September, the government submitted a proposal to set the national pension premium rate at 13 percent and the income replacement rate at 42 percent, but parliament’s discussions on the motion have been slow. 

The main opposition Democratic Party is calling for parametric reforms first, while the ruling People Power Party says such measures should accompany efforts to revamp the structure of the pension system.