Prime Minister Jeong: "Reducing Human Contact is the Best Prevention... Please Join 'Social Distancing'"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 24th, "It is time to focus our efforts on curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and ensuring that children can safely attend school in April."

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong and stated, "The school opening, which was postponed three times due to COVID-19, is now just two weeks away. Sporadic group infections are still occurring domestically, and recently, cases imported from overseas have been increasing."

He continued, "The best preventive measure against COVID-19 is to reduce contact between people and follow hygiene rules," and earnestly requested, "I sincerely ask all citizens to participate in social distancing so that we can overcome COVID-19 as soon as possible and return to normal life."

Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "The difficulties in our economy are deepening due to COVID-19," and added, "The key to overcoming the crisis is speed."

He also said, "Each ministry should promptly implement the 32 trillion won scale measures including the supplementary budget and the 'Livelihood and Financial Stability Package Program' announced at the Emergency Economic Meeting so that support can be felt on the ground," and stressed, "In particular, although applications for policy funds for small business owners have surged, execution is still slow. Relevant ministries and local governments should check whether the loan delays are actually being resolved and devise measures to speed up support."

He added, "I will personally monitor the support status for small business owners every week."

Prime Minister Chung also said, "If domestic demand stagnation leads to layoffs, workers' livelihoods will be shaken," and urged, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor should actively promote support projects such as employment retention subsidies so that workplaces can make full use of them."

He went on, "The spread of COVID-19 in Europe and the United States raises concerns about disruptions to our companies' exports and supply of materials and parts. In particular, domestic automobile manufacturers may face difficulties in parts supply and exports," and said, "The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and related ministries should closely communicate with export companies such as the automobile industry and proactively prepare countermeasures such as stockpiling and diversifying import sources."

Finally, Prime Minister Chung expressed, "Although spring flowers are blooming, these days we cannot enjoy them with peace of mind," and stated, "I will do my utmost to overcome COVID-19 so that true spring may come soon in the hearts of the people."

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