Hong Nam-ki: "Exemption of Various Aviation Fees... Prompt Support for Bus, Shipping, and Tourism"

The 1st Crisis Management Countermeasures Meeting Held

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 1st Crisis Management Meeting" held on the 18th at the Government Seoul Office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The government has decided to immediately implement support measures such as landing fee reductions and aircraft parking fee exemptions for the aviation industry, which has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis. It also announced plans to prioritize support for sectors struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation, including buses, shipping, tourism, and performing arts.

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, held the 1st Crisis Management Meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 18th and stated, "Due to the recent expansion of overseas entry restrictions, resulting in a sharp decline in traveler movement and cargo volume, as well as a decrease in bus ridership, damages have intensified, so we have prepared additional support measures."

For the aviation industry, the focus was on waiving and reducing various fees. The landing fee reduction, originally scheduled to start in June, will be implemented immediately and the reduction rate will be expanded up to 20%. Landing fees for March and April alone are estimated to reach approximately 11.4 billion KRW. Aircraft parking fees amounting to about 7.9 billion KRW from March to May will also be fully exempted. Additionally, the recovery of transport rights and slots will be completely deferred.

For the bus industry, to alleviate the cost burden of route buses, highway tolls will be temporarily waived, and routes with a passenger decrease of more than 50% will consider reducing the number of operations.

Furthermore, considering the unique characteristics of the tourism industry, which lacks collateral, special credit guarantee loans will be increased from 50 billion KRW to 100 billion KRW, and the repayment deferral limit for tourism fund loans will be expanded from 100 billion KRW to 200 billion KRW. In the performing arts sector, support will be provided for production costs and audience admission fees to revitalize demand.

In the export sector, the focus is on liquidity support and non-face-to-face marketing. Support will be expanded for early cash conversion guarantees of export receivables worth 500 billion KRW to enable small and medium-sized export companies to immediately convert export receivables into cash. In response to entry restrictions, online export consultation meetings and online exhibitions will be activated, and urgent overseas marketing on behalf of export companies will be promoted through KOTRA trade centers.

The meeting also included financial support measures for small business owners and SMEs as agenda items. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "We plan to announce a comprehensive financial support package after further discussions for small business owners and SMEs." He also emphasized, "We will continue to strengthen efforts to support proactive administration to actively induce policy decisions during crises and prompt policy implementation on the ground."

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