Lee Eokwon, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, "Food and Accommodation Industries Expected to Be Most Affected by 4th COVID-19 Wave"

MoEF Holds '41st Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Regular Briefing'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Lee Eokwon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, forecasted regarding the 4th wave of COVID-19 that "the impact of the COVID-19 spread seems to be concentrated mainly on face-to-face service industries such as food and lodging."

On the afternoon of the 12th, during the '41st Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Regular Briefing,' Vice Minister Lee stated, "Card sales in food and lodging industries have slightly decreased compared to the 3rd wave but continue to decline."

Regarding employment, Vice Minister Lee said, "Although food and lodging industries shifted to a decrease after 4 months, job increases in other sectors have offset this decline." He added, "Since there is a time lag, we are monitoring the situation closely."

In fact, according to the 'July Employment Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 11th, the number of employed persons in the food and lodging industries decreased by 12,000 last month, marking a decline after 4 months.

In the wholesale and retail trade sector, employment decreased by 186,000, resulting in a total employment reduction of 198,000 in these industries alone.

However, exports have not yet been significantly affected. Vice Minister Lee explained, "On a monthly basis for July, exports reached an all-time high, and exports up to August 10th recorded a 46.4% increase."

He also stated, "Regarding the rapid execution plan for loss compensation, the government-wide Small Business Loss Compensation Public-Private Task Force (TF) was launched on the 28th of last month and is currently active," adding, "We are making every effort to ensure there are no delays in payments by the end of October."

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