President Moon: "Even After COVID-19 Ends, Companies May Still Bear Scars" (Comprehensive)

President Moon Orders Recovery Policies for Struggling Companies... "Effectively Implement Emergency Economic Meeting Measures"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in pointed out that the impact of the 'Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19)' could leave bruises on lower-tier companies and called for economic recovery policies.

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, said on the 16th, "Even after the COVID-19 situation ends, companies may not return to their original state but might be left with bruises," adding, "While personal consumption may return to normal, if the COVID shock lasts longer, it could leave significant aftereffects on some lower-tier companies."

Earlier, Kim Sang-jo, the Blue House Chief Policy Officer, reported to President Moon on the Bank of Korea's 2020 Q1 Corporate Management Analysis statistics. The report included that due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors, the operating profit margin relative to domestic corporate sales in the first quarter of this year fell by 1.2 percentage points from the same period last year, recording 4.1%.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chief Kim emphasized that among companies, those already struggling are facing even greater difficulties. Spokesperson Kang stressed, "President Moon and his economic aides have decided to focus policy efforts on enabling lower-tier companies to recover quickly from the COVID shock. The emphasis in my earlier remarks is on 'quickly.'"

In this regard, a senior Blue House official said, "The conclusion is that measures announced through the 1st to 6th Emergency Economic Meetings must be implemented swiftly and effectively," adding, "For example, support through the Industrial Stability Fund for airlines or machinery and automobile subcontractors can serve as such an example."

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