Minister Kwon Chil-seung: "Retroactive Application of COVID-19 Loss Compensation is Difficult"

On the 18th, in the Sanjawi full committee meeting, the opposition said, "It must be applied retroactively"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The government’s position that retroactive application of loss compensation for small business owners affected by COVID-19 is impossible has been reaffirmed.

On the 18th, at the full meeting of the Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Venture Business Committee held at the National Assembly, Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, responded to opposition lawmakers' demands that "loss compensation should be applied retroactively" by stating, "The government’s position is that retroactive application is difficult." This reiterated the existing government stance.

Minister Kwon said, "It would be good to provide sufficient compensation and support, but due to constraints, we regret that the current Beotimok Plus funds cannot be provided more generously," expressing his regret.

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups attended the 'Venture Industry Meeting' held on the 4th at the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where he exchanged opinions with leaders of venture industry organizations. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Minister Kwon explained, "Loss compensation and damage support are clearly different," adding, "Damage support can be determined by the government’s criteria, but loss compensation varies individually, so if it were possible to distinguish and provide differentiated support, we would have done so, but there is no way to do that."

He continued, "If loss compensation is applied retroactively and legally defined, it would be impossible even for God to measure how much should be paid in the future." He added, "It is difficult to propose a method. Whether to base it on operating profit, fixed costs, or sales, or whether to apply weights based on business days, these could be accepted or rejected individually depending on social consensus. If that happens, it would be difficult for the government to set a budget for damage support."

Minister Kwon also emphasized, "From the first time I attended the standing committee, I clearly stated that if we get too involved in legal debates, the actual losses will be borne by small business owners," and said, "I think it is not too late to define the legal nature later."

This was in reference to the debate over unclear terminology regarding loss compensation funds, disaster relief funds, and damage support funds during the subcommittee meeting of the Industry Committee held the previous day.

Minister Kwon said, "If it is decided that loss compensation should be applied retroactively from the outbreak of COVID-19, there is a high possibility that various support projects the government has been conducting will be curtailed."

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