Sinsedon "Issuing Currency Country US Incomparable... Fiscal Caution Needed in Support"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As the United States considers providing $1,000 in cash per person to overcome the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), calls for disaster basic income are rising in Korea as well. Shin Se-don, co-chairman of the Future United Party's joint election committee, stated that "we cannot view the U.S. and us on the same level."

On the 24th, Shin appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and said, "The U.S. is a currency-issuing country, and if they print money, they can create purchasing power as long as they have the cost of paper."

He added, "Although the U.S. has an enormous national debt, it has the advantage of being a currency-issuing country, but our financial market is currently very difficult. In this situation where we don't know how the financial market might collapse, we cannot irresponsibly neglect national finances. We should be cautious but provide support if necessary."

Instead, he emphasized selective payments to small business owners and self-employed individuals. He said, "The point is not about giving cash, but to whom it is given. For example, if we take a tteokbokki restaurant, we can simply calculate the statistics comparing sales from January to March last year to January to March this year, and provide payments to businesses whose sales have decreased by more than 30% or 20%."

For individuals or households, he proposed benefits on health insurance premiums and electricity bills. Shin said, "For those who pay less than 50,000 won in health insurance premiums, we should exempt the full 50,000 won; for those paying between 50,000 and 100,000 won, reduce by 30,000 won; and for those paying more than 100,000 won, reduce by 20,000 won. Those who pay more likely have more financial leeway, so this tiered approach would reduce the burden on the general public."

To finance this, Shin proposed issuing national bonds worth 40 trillion won. He said, "There is about 3,000 trillion won in idle funds in the market, and if we issue COVID-19 national bonds worth 40 trillion won, we can draw on these funds."

He also revealed that support measures for distribution and airline companies hit directly by COVID-19 are being prepared. He said, "For industries like airlines and large distribution companies such as department stores, fundamental support measures are needed at the national industry level for sectors affected by such shocks. We are preparing measures not by giving money for free but by providing financing or similar methods."

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