President Moon: "Special Measures Must Be Hastened to Prevent Overwork Deaths of Delivery Workers" (Update)

Presiding over Cabinet Meeting at Cheongwadae: Addressing Social Inequality in the 'COVID-19' Era... "Pay Special Attention to Face-to-Face Activities and Non-Regular Female Workers"

[Asia Economy Reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Kim Dong-pyo] President Moon Jae-in, at the Cabinet meeting on the 20th, addressed the issue of the ‘Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19),’ stating, “It is pushing the lives of workers in blind spots, such as special employment workers, further to the brink. The overwork death of delivery workers is a typical example,” and urged the government to take special measures.

President Moon said, “Inequality caused by COVID-19 continues to threaten the lives of the people in various fields. A representative example is the new inequality structure in the labor market.”

He added, “The government is making efforts such as expanding employment insurance coverage, but it is still insufficient. Institutional protection beyond temporary support is necessary,” and requested, “Please strengthen inspections of the harsh working conditions of laborers and labor supervision further, and prepare sustainable measures.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Furthermore, President Moon said, “Please pay special attention to non-regular female workers who have no choice but to engage in face-to-face activities even during the COVID-19 situation,” and stated, “Please review policies to alleviate the suffering of non-regular workers with particularly high proportions of female workers, such as caregivers, nursing assistants, after-school teachers, housekeepers, and childminders, and prepare necessary support measures.”

In addition, President Moon said, “Resolving care and educational inequality caused by COVID-19 is also an important task,” and emphasized, “Delicate and sophisticated policy efforts are needed to prevent income gaps from leading to care gaps and educational gaps.” He added, “There is a need to comprehensively strengthen the child care system,” and instructed, “Relevant ministries should promptly prepare improvement plans for the child care system during the infectious disease spread period.”

President Moon also expressed concern, saying, “There was a tragic report that three people with developmental disabilities died consecutively from falls. The cause is pointed out as failure to receive timely care. The significant increase in solitary deaths this year is also a problem,” and urged, “These incidents occurred because those who should be protected were left in blind spots. Please carefully examine the actual conditions and swiftly devise necessary measures.”

Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting chaired by President Moon was conducted by connecting the Blue House, the Government Seoul Office, and the Government Sejong Office via video conference. The Government Seoul Office was attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, and the Government Sejong Office by Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Yoo Eun-hye, among other cabinet members. At the Blue House, Chief of Staff Noh Young-min and Policy Chief Kim Sang-jo were present. National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, who recently returned from the United States, is working from home due to self-quarantine.

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