President Moon: "Prepare for Worst-Case Scenario of Novel Coronavirus... Develop Measures to Minimize Economic Damage"

President Moon Jae-in is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on the morning of the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] On the 4th, President Moon Jae-in said regarding the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), "We must hasten to prepare countermeasures in various ways to minimize the shock and damage to our economy in preparation for the worst-case scenario where the situation prolongs."

President Moon chaired the State Council meeting on the novel coronavirus response at the Blue House that day and urged, "The difficulties in our export and tourism industries are becoming a reality." He continued, "Although it is a regrettable situation, we must endure and overcome it. The greater the difficulty, the answer lies in the field, and the higher the uncertainty, the more important it is to strengthen communication with the field. We must enhance communication with regions, industries, and companies and devise active support measures."

President Moon said, "To minimize the domestic inflow of infectious diseases, we have strengthened immigration control and begun phased entry restrictions," adding, "We are building a meticulous quarantine network keeping in mind all possible virus transmission routes and are making every effort to prevent community spread." He reiterated, "The government will not let its guard down for a moment and will not allow any gaps with an extraordinary determination to end the novel coronavirus."

The government implemented entry restrictions from midnight on foreigners who had visited Hubei Province, including Wuhan City, the source of the novel coronavirus. President Moon’s reference to this as a 'phased measure' is interpreted as leaving open the possibility of expanding such measures in the future.

The State Council meeting that day was attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and other cabinet members, as well as metropolitan governors including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, North Chungcheong Province Governor Lee Si-jong, and South Chungcheong Province Governor Yang Seung-jo. President Moon emphasized, "To block the community spread of infectious diseases, close cooperation and coordination between the central government and local governments are absolutely necessary," and urged, "All local governments should closely cooperate with the central government to block community spread of infectious diseases and mobilize all available resources."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.