Hong Nam-ki: "Mask Export Ban Should Have Been Implemented Sooner"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on the 10th regarding the government's export ban measure to stabilize mask supply, "I think it would have been better if it had been done earlier."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong made this remark while attending the plenary session of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee, responding to Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the United Future Party's criticism, saying, "It was necessary to restrict exports when masks were more needed domestically."

He explained, "Currently, demand absolutely exceeds supply for masks," adding, "Before the Shincheonji incident, there was no problem with supply and demand based on the demand at that time, but demand increased sharply afterward."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong expressed regret, saying, "I apologize for the inconvenience caused by the unstable supply of masks," and emphasized, "Private companies are producing day and night."

Regarding Rep. Kim Jung-woo of the Democratic Party's suggestion that a second supplementary budget should be considered, he said, "It is not the time to talk about a second supplementary budget now," but added, "As the global economy becomes more difficult and depending on how much impact it has on our economy, if there is additional impact, there should be corresponding measures."

In response to Rep. Shim Ki-jun of the Democratic Party's suggestion to expand the supplementary budget, currently at 11.7 trillion won, to the level of 29 trillion won, which was prepared immediately after the 2008 international financial crisis, he said, "If we only talk about the supplementary budget, the scale could have increased, but about 8 trillion won in fiscal spending and about 20 trillion won including public institutions have already been created and are underway as government measures," adding, "The total government support should be considered to be about 32 trillion won."

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