Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun Urges Continued Efforts to Simplify Procedures Amid COVID-19 Impact on Workers' Livelihoods

Nearly Three Months of the COVID-19 Crisis... "Employment and Financial Support Must Be Provided Promptly"
Urging Thorough Precautions for the 21st National Assembly Election

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] "Many workers are facing difficulties in making a living due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Please continue to simplify the procedures for the Employment Retention Support Fund."

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated this during his opening remarks at the 17th Cabinet meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex on the morning of the 7th, emphasizing, "The COVID-19 situation has been ongoing for nearly three months," and added, "Due to the contraction of economic activities, companies are complaining of management difficulties, and many workers are suffering damage to their livelihoods."

The number of applications for the Employment Retention Support Fund has reached 26 times the total number of applications from last year as of last week. In response, Prime Minister Chung stressed, "The difficulties in the employment market are intensifying due to COVID-19," and urged, "Please continuously promote manpower expansion and procedure simplification at frontline employment centers to prevent bottlenecks, and also check the funding situation in advance."

He also ordered reinforcement of financial support measures for small business owners. Financial support for small business owners is linked to guarantees from regional credit guarantee foundations, and as of last week, 45% of the total 380,000 guarantee applications have been issued. Prime Minister Chung said, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Financial Services Commission should continuously monitor the situation for faster support and supplement any shortcomings."

Furthermore, he added a request to ensure thorough quarantine measures related to the 21st National Assembly election to be held on the 15th. Prime Minister Chung said, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and related agencies should make every effort to ensure quarantine and safety at polling and counting stations and support the voting rights of confirmed patients as much as possible," and added, "Although voters may experience some inconvenience, please be sure to wear masks, follow safety rules such as wearing plastic gloves and maintaining distance between those waiting, and exercise your precious vote."

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