President Moon: "Whole-of-Government Emergency Response for Both Quarantine and Economy" (Comprehensive)

Presiding over the State Council Meeting, "If necessary, hold an Emergency Economic Meeting chaired by the President"... "Strengthen economic policies in the second half to match changing circumstances"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the 25th, President Moon Jae-in stated, "A whole-of-government emergency response is necessary for both quarantine and the economy," adding, "If necessary, an emergency economic meeting presided over by the president may be held."

President Moon presided over the 43rd Cabinet meeting at the Blue House and ordered a whole-of-government emergency response to the issue of the re-spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). He emphasized, "While strengthening quarantine measures, we cannot neglect the economy even for a moment," and added, "Quarantine and the economy are two rabbits that must be caught."

President Moon said, "The government's goal is to achieve a rebound in growth starting from the third quarter," and added, "Recently, the re-spread of COVID-19 has delayed the pace of economic rebound and raises concerns about additional economic difficulties. In particular, I am worried that consumption and domestic demand, which were showing signs of recovery, may shrink again."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon emphasized, "If social distancing level 2 is prolonged, economic difficulties will increase further," and said, "An extraordinary economic response is needed for this. However, emergency economic responses must be carried out in a way that harmonizes with quarantine measures."

He highlighted that low-income earners' incomes have increased through emergency economic measures, evaluating it as "an achievement that shows the government's effort to break the formula that crisis inevitably leads to deepened inequality."

However, due to the re-spread of COVID-19, the need to supplement or add to existing emergency measures has grown. President Moon instructed, "Please reinforce the economic policy direction for the second half of the year, which has already been announced, to fit the changed situation," and "Urgently check whether there are any shortcomings despite fiscal support through three supplementary budgets and large-scale financial support."

Emphasizing the importance of jobs, President Moon requested special attention to vulnerable groups, small and medium-sized merchants, and self-employed individuals. He also stressed the necessity of investment plans based on measures to stimulate consumption, revitalize domestic demand, and expand public investment. He ordered the rapid execution of the budget and securing additional funds through contingency funds and fund reallocations. Furthermore, he urged that the timing of the execution of the third supplementary budget should be advanced.

In addition, President Moon emphasized the need for future-oriented investments such as the Korean New Deal. He requested, "Please proceed steadily with the Digital New Deal and Green New Deal projects, focusing on transitioning to a new economy and creating large-scale jobs, while accelerating the expansion of employment and social safety nets."

Meanwhile, since the 24th, the Blue House has minimized the number of attendees at meetings presided over by President Moon. At the Cabinet meeting on the 25th, measures in accordance with social distancing were taken, such as installing transparent plastic partitions at each table. Due to the National Assembly schedule, the Cabinet meeting was held from 9 a.m. under President Moon's chairmanship, and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun was in charge of reviewing the agenda.

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