President Moon: "Selective support is an unavoidable choice... Payment before Chuseok"

Presiding Over Senior and Assistant Officers Meeting... "Maximizing Effectiveness with Limited Resources"
"Please Bear With Us a Little Longer" Appeal for Cooperation in Quarantine Measures

President Moon Jae-in is presiding over the senior secretaries and aides meeting at the Blue House on the 7th.

President Moon Jae-in said on the 7th regarding the government's decision to selectively provide disaster relief funds, "Tailored disaster relief is an inevitable choice to maximize effectiveness with limited resources, considering various situations and circumstances."

During the senior secretaries and presidential aides meeting held at the Blue House that day, President Moon stated in his opening remarks, "The government will expedite the procedures, including swiftly preparing the supplementary budget bill so that the relief funds can be provided as much as possible before Chuseok."

President Moon explained, "The government has determined that a 4th supplementary budget is unavoidable and has defined its nature as tailored to the affected," adding, "This means focusing on the industries and groups most severely impacted to provide the most substantial support possible." He continued, "By prioritizing support for those on the brink of survival, we aim to provide the maximum safety net to prevent the collapse of people's lives."

President Moon reiterated that the government's decision for selective support amid the resurgence of COVID-19 was an unavoidable choice considering the current situation.

He said, "There can be various opinions regarding the amount, target, and method of payment for the second disaster relief," and added, "Since all citizens are cooperating with quarantine efforts despite the hardships and fatigue caused by COVID-19, there is merit in the opinion that even a small amount of disaster relief should be given to everyone."

However, President Moon noted, "Realistically, the financial difficulties are significant," and said, "The funds for the 4th supplementary budget must be covered by issuing government bonds." He added, "We cannot ignore the fact that we are still going through the COVID-19 crisis and do not know when it will end."

President Moon stated, "After much discussion and consideration, the ruling party and government decided to focus first on the industries, groups, and targets most severely affected, as the purpose of the 4th supplementary budget is to overcome the crisis," and requested, "I ask the people to understand and cooperate broadly."

He promised, "We will also actively seek additional necessary support measures for the people, such as ways to reduce the increased childcare burden on parents due to prolonged non-face-to-face education."

President Moon also called for cooperation from the political circles. He said, "The opposition party has also expressed the need for the supplementary budget and agreed on tailored support focusing on the industries and groups most affected," and added, "We will explain the prepared supplementary budget bill to the opposition in advance. I ask the National Assembly to swiftly review and process the bill."

Furthermore, President Moon expressed gratitude for the public's cooperation with quarantine measures and appealed, "Please endure just a little longer."

He evaluated, "The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases, which once surged to the 400s, has been in the 100s for five consecutive days and is continuing to decline," adding, "The strong measures swiftly taken by the government have begun to show gradual effects."

He continued, "Although there were many pessimistic forecasts that daily cases could exceed 1,000, our people have once again succeeded in reversing the situation," and said, "

Thanks to the citizens who actively participated in strengthened social distancing despite the inconveniences to daily life and economic damage."

President Moon said, "We will do our utmost to reduce the number of confirmed cases to below 100, in the double digits, before the Chuseok holiday to keep COVID-19 under stable control," and added, "We will do our best so that the people can return to normal daily life and economic activities as soon as possible."

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