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| President Moon/ Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
The government will provide up to 1 million won ($820) in disaster relief money per family as a part of measures to ease the financial burden of lower-income households struggling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The government will draw up a supplemental budget bill in the coming weeks to deliver the cash relief.
President Moon Jae-in announced the measure while presiding over the third Emergency Economic Council (EEC) meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. This is the first time for the government to introduce a policy to financially support people's living costs during a national crisis.
The central government, in cooperation with local administrations, will provide the 1 million emergency payment to families with four or more members in the bottom 70 percent of the gross income index. A one-person household will receive 400,000 won, a two-person family, 600,000 won, and a three-member household, 800,000 won. About 14 million households will be eligible to receive the money, according to Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki.
Some local government chiefs such as Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung had called on the government and the National Assembly to consider a financial relief program for all citizens. But the government has decided to provide the emergency aid money to only a certain fraction of the population ― those with lower incomes.
"This was not an easy decision. We went through a lot of meetings and discussions. Everyone in this country has suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and participated in the quarantine measures. Every citizen deserves to be rewarded for their suffering and efforts," Moon said at the start of the meeting.
"However, the government needs to conserve as much in financial resources as possible to prepare for the unending economic shock and to respond quickly to job insecurity and corporate liquidity crises. For those who are more economically capable, I ask them to understand and make concessions for those who earn less."
The program will be financed through a second supplemental budget, in addition to the 11.7 trillion one which already gained National Assembly approval earlier this month. The government plans to request 7.1 trillion won; and with another 2 trillion won from local governments, the total amount of the relief fund will be 9.1 trillion won.
"The most important thing is prompt payment of the emergency disaster aid money. For this, we will quickly submit a second supplementary budget bill and seek to have it processed by the National Assembly this month after the general election, so the money can be provided before mid-May," Moon added.
In addition, low-income households, small business owners and the self-employed will either get reductions in or suspensions of monthly payments to four social insurance categories and electricity bills. The continuous monthly payments of four social insurances ― the national pension, national healthcare insurance, employment insurance, and industrial accident compensation insurance ― have been considered a huge burden for people struggling with reduced or stagnant wages amid the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19.
With the April 15 general election only weeks away, the opposition parties have not been actively supportive of the government's move to provide monetary aid, because they believe it would help the ruling bloc win more voter attention. However, they cannot actively oppose the move, either, because they agree on the need to support financially struggling citizens.
Moon's approval rating has been picking up due to rising public support for his response to the pandemic. A Realmeter survey published Monday showed that 52. 6 percent said he was doing a good job, a 3.3 percentage point increase from the previous week.
