SEOUL– President Moon Jae-in emphasized the need Thursday for the speedy provision of financial support to vulnerable people hit by the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He made the remarks during a meeting with economy-related ministers on the livelihoods of the people in the midst of the drawn-out coronavirus crisis. It was unprecedented for Moon to convene such a session with ministers for discussions solely on the matter.
The president instructed the government to make swift use of a 34.9 trillion-won (US$30.4 billion) supplementary budget approved by the National Assembly last week.
“Speed matters from now on,” he said during the meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae with the finance, labor, health and SMEs ministers in attendance.
“Above all, it is urgent to relieve the weight of the agony that the owners of small businesses and (other) vulnerable people are enduring,” he added.
Moon stressed that the government should prevent income and asset gaps from widening by strengthening the social and employment safety nets.
He also took note of an announcement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this week to raise its 2021 growth outlook for South Korea’s economy from 3.6 percent to 4.3 percent.
It reflects confidence in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy and the potential of its people, according to the president.
There is no guarantee that South Korea will achieve the growth rate this year, however, unless it is successful in curbing the spread of the virus, he added.
“The government’s budget for next year should also be expansionary,” Moon was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee.
Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will expand the budget for loans to low income and low credit people to between 9 trillion won and 10 trillion won.
Source: Yonhap News Agency