Ahead Of Retirement, Moon Jae-in Could Be The Only Living Former South Korean President To Receive Retirement Money

South Korean President Moon Jae-in. (Wikimedia Commons.www.kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - Moon Jae-in could be the only surviving former president to receive a monthly pension, ahead of retiring from his post as President of South Korea next year.

After retiring, President Moon Jae-in will get 13.9 million won or around IDR 16,9140,613 per month as a pension. He could be the only surviving former president of the Ginseng State to be allowed to receive a presidential pension, citing Korea Time, Friday, September 10.

Because, four other former presidents of South Korea who are still alive today, have been deprived of their rights after being impeached and dismissed from office, or imprisoned.

According to Ministry of Home Affairs and Safety data submitted to Lee Young of the main opposition People Power Party, Moon Jae-in will be paid about 166.9 million won or around IDR 2,030,904,197 annually after retirement. Moon's term will end in May next year.

Meanwhile, Moon's annual salary is expected to be 250.1 million won next year or around 3043,314,198.94, which is a 5 percent increase from this year. However, he has frozen his own salary since 2019 by voluntarily returning the raise.

Currently, none of Moon's predecessors who served as President of South Korea are alive, receiving a presidential pension. However, former first lady Son Myung-soon, wife of the late former President Kim Young-sam, and former first lady Kwon Yang-sook, wife of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, received pensions as living spouses.

The four surviving former presidents Park Geun-hye, Lee Myung-bak, Roh Tae-woo, and Chun Doo-hwan have been deprived of their rights to receive presidential pensions because they were imprisoned. The law states that pensions are not offered to former presidents who were dismissed or resigned from office after being impeached or imprisoned.

However, the amount Moon receives from the government will be greater than 13.9 million won per month, as the former president is provided with other benefits, such as cars and travel, as well as medical expenses and subsidies to pay for household staff.

After retiring, President Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook plan to move to Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, where they currently have private residences.

They bought a two-story house nearby and the land around it to build a new private residence where they would live. Because it must be protected, the government also allocates funds to build guard facilities there.