Gov't to offer 'tailored' financial support for vulnerable people
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, left, and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Nak-yon smile after their meeting at Chung's office in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
South Korea is planning for "tailored" support for some of the country's households and self-employed hit especially hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, top government and ruling party officials said Sunday.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun made public the scheme in his opening remarks during a meeting with the leaders of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and senior Cheong Wa Dae officials. The session was intended for discussions on detailed plans for a second round of cash handouts, called disaster relief money.
The government will provide "tailored support with no blind spots" with a focus on the vulnerable, who include the unemployed, youth, freelancers, low-income people and merchants and the self-employed, Chung said.
"The government will mobilize every policy means to overcome the pending economic crisis," he added.
The DP chief, Lee Nak-yon, also said the government plans to aid "people in need first."
On the envisioned fourth batch of supplementary budgets, Lee said it would be financed fully by the issuance of state bonds.
He pointed out that it would be the first time in 59 years for the South Korean government to allocate extra budgets four times in a year.
"It means that the situation is so desperate," he said.
Presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Sang-jo and the DP floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon also attended the meeting.
Earlier this year, the government paid each of the country's households up to 1 million won (US$840).
Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung expressed regret that his call for another universal relief money payment has not been accepted. He has long been against such a targeted approach.
He wrote on his social messaging account that he's afraid of "consequences of the forced discrimination" during the crisis.
He cited a saying that, "As the people get more enraged by injustice than poverty, you need to be concerned in politics more about injustice than poverty." Lee is a potential presidential candidate of the ruling party. (Yonhap)