Democratic Party: "Job Losses Due to COVID-19 Will Be Reflected in Supplementary Budget" (Comprehensive)

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader, are attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 15th, Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his intention to include matters related to the creation of public jobs along with the 4th disaster relief fund in the supplementary budget.

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Lee said, "The number of employed people decreased by 980,000 compared to a year ago last month, and the number of unemployed increased by 410,000," adding, "We will reflect the related budget in the supplementary budget to create public jobs." He explained the background of promoting the budget related to public jobs within the 4th relief fund by saying, "Even one more person must work to cross the river of crisis."

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, also raised the issue of jobs. Kim stated, "The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and seasonal factors have worsened the employment situation," and "The number of employed people has significantly decreased mainly in face-to-face service industries such as lodging and retail." He mentioned, "The decrease was especially large among those aged 29 and under, that is, the youth," and added, "The ruling party will make extraordinary efforts to recover jobs."

Kim particularly said, "In the first quarter, the government decided to directly create more than 900,000 jobs to strengthen the role of a safety net," and "We will prepare employment measures along with the early execution of the job policies being prepared to overcome the current employment difficulties."

With additional budgets related to the creation of public jobs being included, this supplementary budget is expected to increase significantly. The 4th disaster relief fund is also planned to greatly exceed the scale of previous years, aiming to minimize the 'blind spots.' The scale of the 4th disaster relief fund is expected to surpass not only the 9.3 trillion won of the 3rd fund but also the 14.3 trillion won of the 1st fund by a large margin.

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