Kim Du-kwan "Presidential Decision Needed for Compensation of Losses from Level 4 Social Distancing Measures"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] On the 9th, Kim Doo-kwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, demanded the activation of the Small Business Loss Compensation Deliberation Committee and the Prime Minister’s role ahead of the implementation of social distancing level 4.

On the same day, Kim said on his SNS, "The endurance of small business owners has reached its limit, and level 4 social distancing will be a fatal blow to small business owners who have endured tearfully for a year and a half," adding, "According to the Loss Compensation Act, the activities of the Loss Compensation Committee must be started promptly."

He continued, "As of last year, Korea’s government expenditure in response to COVID-19 as a percentage of GDP was 13.6%, which is less than half of the advanced countries’ average of 28.4%, and during that period, loans to self-employed individuals increased by 1.5 times," and pointed out, "The government must now properly fulfill its role in protecting the lives and property of the people."

He argued, "Considering that the increase in loan balances for the self-employed was 40 trillion won, and that disaster relief funds for small business owners last year amounted to 17 trillion won as a result of fiscal support input relative to GDP being less than half of that of advanced countries, it is necessary to consider a support scale of at least 34 to 40 trillion won."

Kim said, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is the main department responsible for loss compensation, but the reason why loss compensation has fallen short of other advanced countries in terms of timing and scale is largely due to the influence of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which dominates above other ministries, so the Prime Minister needs to take direct command," emphasizing, "If the Ministry of Economy and Finance tries to reduce compensation again, the Prime Minister should recommend the dismissal of the Minister of Economy and Finance to the President."

He added, "If sufficient support is not provided to small business owners now, it will require more money and time to revive households affected by COVID-19 and to recover the economy," and said, "Bold and swift government measures are necessary."

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