"Moon Administration Enters 'COVID-19 Emergency Mode'... President Chairs Weekly Meetings" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis has prolonged longer than initially expected, the government has launched an emergency response system. The president will preside over weekly meetings attended by relevant ministries and private experts to review the situation and devise countermeasures.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 18th, President Moon Jae-in will start presiding over a weekly "Emergency Economic Meeting" beginning on the 19th. This meeting will include ministers from relevant ministries such as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, but depending on the need, representatives from economic organizations, labor groups, and private experts will also attend. It is a meeting body that consolidates nationwide capabilities from the government, private sector, and academia.

This government measure comes as the COVID-19 crisis has worsened into a global pandemic stage, increasing volatility in domestic and international financial markets and causing simultaneous shocks to the real economy, resulting in a complex crisis situation.

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks while presiding over the '11th Economic Ministers' Meeting on COVID-19 Response and the 1st Crisis Management Countermeasures Meeting' held on the 18th at the Government Seoul Office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

The existing Economic Relations Ministers' Meeting and Economic Vitality Measures Meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Hong, have also been converted into a "Crisis Management Measures Meeting." This meeting, which will focus primarily on overcoming the crisis, will coordinate the agenda for the Emergency Economic Meeting in advance and swiftly implement detailed follow-up measures for the decided policies.

At the first Crisis Management Measures Meeting held that day, Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "Through the Emergency Economic Meeting, we will respond promptly to domestic and international environmental conditions, and through more effective policy coordination and immediate policy decisions, we will strive to produce tangible economic results that the public can feel," adding, "We will steadily implement extraordinary measures to ensure rapid crisis response, recovery of the livelihood economy, and enhancement of economic vitality momentum."

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