The Party, Government, and Blue House to Discuss 2nd Disaster Relief Fund Today... Likely to Conclude Selective Payment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party of Korea, the government, and the Blue House are set to begin consultations on the disbursement of the second emergency disaster relief fund and the formulation of the fourth supplementary budget (supplementary budget bill).

According to the Democratic Party on the 3rd, the party and government will hold a closed-door high-level meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in the afternoon, attended by Representative Lee Nak-yeon, Floor Leader Kim Tae-nyeon, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, among others.

This move follows the Democratic Party's stance that a conclusion must be reached within this week to ensure the relief funds are distributed before Chuseok. The Democratic Party plans to convey its position to the government and the Blue House after a working-level party-government consultation at the Policy Committee in the afternoon.

The core of the party-government discussions centers on the scale and method of disbursing the disaster relief funds. It is widely expected that the total amount of the second relief fund will be around 7 trillion won, about half of the first round. The funds are likely to be distributed selectively, limited to small business owners, self-employed individuals, low-income groups, and unemployed persons who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In political circles, there is speculation that the emergency economic meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in next week will announce plans to distribute the second disaster relief fund before Chuseok. If the party, government, and Blue House reach an agreement on the scale of the supplementary budget on that day, it is highly likely that the funds will be distributed to all citizens before the Chuseok holiday.

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