Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Self-employed, small business owners likely to benefit from new emergency handout
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) policy chief Han Jeoung-ae, right, joins a party meeting with DPK floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Han also attended a meeting between top officials from the DPK and government to discuss who should receive a second round of emergency relief money following the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
The self-employed and small business owners are likely to receive a second round of emergency relief money aimed at minimizing the economic fallout from the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Several ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers said Friday the two groups were tentatively selected as beneficiaries of the new emergency handout during closed-door meetings between top DPK and government officials, Thursday and Friday.
The meetings were headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Dr policy chief Han Jeoung-ae.
They discussed whether the government should offer the new relief fund to all households, as in the first round in May, or to selected people based on the level of their financial loss from the virus.
They agreed on the idea of “selective spending,” with the most-affected people being beneficiaries.
“The self-employed and small business owners were chosen after considering their businesses were severely hit by days of triple-digit rises in new coronavirus cases and enhanced social distancing measures,” a DPK official said.
The second round of relief money is estimated at between 7 trillion won and 9 trillion won ($7.56 billion). The government spent 14.3 trillion won in the first round.
The government hopes to provide the relief funds by the Chuseok holiday ― beginning Sept. 30 ― with National Assembly approval of the related extra budget, which will be the fourth this year.
The relief funds may be provided in cash, gift vouchers or other forms, depending on the choice of recipients.
The government raised the level of social distancing guidelines for the greater Seoul on Aug. 16 and nationwide on Aug. 23, following a new wave of COVID-19 cases.
The measure dealt a blow to restaurants, cafes, karaoke rooms and other small businesses as they have been ordered to suspend or close their operations earlier than usual.