Hong Nam-ki: "5.8 Million Eligible for COVID-19 Customized Damage Support... Payments Start from the 11th"

Government to Announce Customized Support Measures for COVID-19 Third Wave Impact on 29th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced, "We have prepared a customized damage support plan worth 9.3 trillion won in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)." The number of beneficiaries reaches 5.8 million, and payments will begin on the 11th of next month.

On the morning of the 29th, the government finalized the "Customized Damage Support Measures in Response to the Third Wave of COVID-19" at the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "The government judged that damage support due to this COVID-19 resurgence is urgent, and has been focusing on measures targeting those most affected, such as small business owners and vulnerable employment groups," adding, "We will provide rapid support starting from early to mid-January."

He stated, "Initially, we considered a scale of 3 trillion won plus alpha, but considering the recent quarantine situation, we have prepared a customized damage support plan worth a total of 9.3 trillion won." He added, "This exceeds the scale of the 4th supplementary budget (7.8 trillion won) and is essentially an extraordinary fiscal support measure equivalent to a fifth supplementary budget."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "For small business owners affected by COVID-19, 4.1 trillion won worth of Small Business Support Funds will be provided," and explained, "Cash will be directly given to 2.8 million small business owners with annual sales of 400 million won or less, whose operations were prohibited or restricted by government quarantine measures or whose sales have decreased."

He also said, "To ensure the Support Funds are paid as quickly as possible, we will use administrative information such as from the National Tax Service to select recipients, and special damage industries and existing recipients of the New Hope Fund (2.5 million people) will receive payments immediately upon application without separate screening."

Finally, Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "The government will mobilize all available resources to lead the crisis recovery," and earnestly requested, "We sincerely ask all citizens to strictly comply with quarantine guidelines and unite their efforts for economic recovery and rebound."

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