President Moon and Prime Minister Chung Weekly Meeting: "Efforts on Social Distancing Effectiveness and Vaccine Development"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] On the 13th, President Moon Jae-in positively evaluated the strong effects of social distancing measures related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) during his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, and urged efforts to develop vaccines and treatments.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, President Moon and Prime Minister Chung held their weekly meeting at the Blue House on the day to comprehensively review the COVID-19 quarantine situation and discuss key issues such as strengthening the management of self-quarantined individuals.

They also exchanged opinions on measures to eradicate digital sex crimes and policy tasks related to the expansion of the platform economy due to the recently controversial delivery applications (apps).

First, Prime Minister Chung reported to President Moon on the domestic and international COVID-19 outbreak situation along with ▲ the introduction of the 'Safe Band' ▲ support for voting by self-quarantined individuals ▲ the status of online school openings ▲ and the achievements and challenges of implementing social distancing for three weeks.

In response, President Moon said, "Since the 9th, the daily number of new confirmed cases has been around 30 for five consecutive days, and especially today, the number of patients caused purely by domestic factors has decreased to single digits," adding, "The effect of strong social distancing is appearing, and these results are thanks to the public and frontline medical staff who have endured inconvenience and cooperated."

He also emphasized, "To overcome COVID-19, the development of vaccines and treatments is urgent," and urged, "Since we possess world-class technology in this field, related ministries as well as the bio and pharmaceutical industries and academia should work together to achieve visible results."

President Moon and Prime Minister Chung also discussed the progress of the online school openings, which are being attempted for the first time in history.

Regarding the online school openings that started on the 9th for third-year high school and middle school students, President Moon and Prime Minister Chung evaluated that although there were difficulties such as communication failures initially, the process went relatively smoothly due to prompt responses. They also agreed to continue efforts to reinforce system stability and improve the quality of classes in preparation for additional school openings scheduled for the 16th and 20th.

Meanwhile, President Moon once again emphasized thorough investigations of digital sex crimes and swift support for victims. In particular, he ordered Prime Minister Chung to collect diverse opinions from various sectors and faithfully reflect them in effective eradication measures.

President Moon and Prime Minister Chung shared the recognition that the platform economy will expand due to increased non-face-to-face consumption after COVID-19. Accordingly, they agreed to promptly review comprehensive alternatives from the perspective of 'digital inclusion,' including ▲ responses to monopolistic platforms ▲ protection of rights for small business owners and delivery workers ▲ and fostering startups.

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