Up to 1 Million KRW for Delivery Workers and Other Special Employment Types... Child Allowance Not Included (Comprehensive)

Ruling Party and Government Plan 3rd Disaster Relief Fund of 5 Trillion+α
Following Increase in Business Damage Support Fund
One-Time Payment for Special Workers Also Expected to Rise

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The scale of the third disaster relief fund to be announced by the government on the 29th is expected to exceed 5 trillion won by a wide margin. This is because the scope and target of support for small business owners and vulnerable groups are being expanded, far surpassing the initially budgeted 3 trillion won for next year. The government plans to finance this through the 500 billion won budget carried over from this year's small business management stabilization fund, as well as some contingency funds and other funds.

According to the Democratic Party of Korea and the government on the 28th, the ruling party and government have settled on a scale of '5 trillion won + alpha (α)' for the third disaster relief fund and are coordinating specific plans. The estimated number of recipients for the third disaster relief fund is 5.8 million people. A senior government official stated, "As the COVID-19 situation prolongs, the damage to small business owners and self-employed individuals is increasing," adding, "We will prepare damage support measures on the scale of 5 trillion won + α."

The increase in the scale of the disaster relief fund by the ruling party and government is due to the expansion of business damage support funds and the increased possibility of raising the lump-sum payment amount for vulnerable employment groups such as special-type workers (teukgo) including door-to-door salespeople and substitute drivers, as well as freelancers. The ruling party and government have decided to provide 1 million won to special-type workers and freelancers receiving the disaster relief fund for the first time. However, those who received emergency employment stabilization funds during the second disaster relief fund will receive only half, 500,000 won, additionally.

Small business owners and self-employed individuals will receive 1 million won in business damage support funds. Additionally, businesses subject to gathering restrictions will receive an extra 1 million won, and those subject to gathering bans will receive an additional 2 million won.

The government will also invest 400 billion won as compensation for losses to medical institutions treating COVID-19 patients. This will be paid only to hospitals that provide beds and suffer losses due to being unable to admit other patients. The ruling party and government have estimated that about 300 medical institutions per month have applied for loss compensation. If approximately 130 billion won is supported monthly during the first quarter, it is estimated that each hospital could receive about 300 to 400 million won per month on average. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will determine the final payment amount per hospital at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) Loss Compensation Review Committee, comprehensively considering bed provision and revenue decline.

Previously, the ruling party and government announced guidelines for the third disaster relief fund, including raising the tax credit rate for 'good landlords' from the current 50% to 70%, and deferring payment of electricity bills, employment and industrial accident insurance premiums, and national pension insurance premiums for small business owners for three months starting January next year. The ruling party and government will also provide low-interest loan funds to reduce the rental burden on small business owners. Depending on the scale of the low-interest loan funds, the total amount of the disaster relief fund is expected to increase to nearly 6 trillion won.

The third disaster relief fund will begin to be distributed from early January next year. However, to maximize effectiveness with limited resources, the government has decided not to provide cash support to youth and childcare households. Instead, a plan to support services such as expanding communal childcare sharing centers into childcare facilities is being strongly considered.

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