Premature to Ease 'Georidugi'... But Flood of Criticism Calls Quarantine Policies Useless

Small Business Groups "Will Operate 24 Hours from the 21st"... Condemn Government Quarantine Guidelines
"Quarantine Measures Are Meaningless Due to Omicron... Why Social Distancing?"
Experts "Signal to Ease Social Distancing Will Worsen Crisis"... Criticize as 'Premature'
Self-Employed Urge "Hurry Up with 'Second Quarantine Support Fund' Payment"
Ruling and Opposition Parties at an Impasse Over Quarantine Support Fund Size... Discussions Stalled

On the 14th, officials belonging to the Korean Federation of Trade Unions Self-Employed Workers' Union held a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, urging for retroactive application of loss compensation and opposing the application of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Although the quarantine system was transformed following the large-scale spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, social distancing measures have continued, causing frustration among self-employed business owners. Since the earlier 'gradual recovery of daily life' measures were criticized as premature, there are calls for urgent compensation measures for small business owners who have suffered losses due to quarantine measures instead of hasty easing of social distancing.

The 'COVID-19 Damage Self-Employed General Solidarity' (Coja-chong), composed of 14 small business organizations including the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, announced on the 14th that they will operate 24 hours a day starting from the 21st to protest the government's COVID-19 quarantine guidelines. Self-employed business owners have experienced disruptions to normal business activities due to stringent social distancing and other quarantine policies since the COVID-19 outbreak and have voiced their economic hardships.

Coja-chong urged compensation for damages caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and improvements in treatment for self-employed business owners. The main demands include ▲abolishing restrictions on business hours ▲including self-employed business owners with sales exceeding 1 billion KRW in loss compensation eligibility ▲retroactive application of loss compensation and realization of 100% compensation ▲preparing separate support plans by Seoul and local governments ▲additional application of loss compensation for all businesses opened after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Min Sang-heon, co-representative of Coja-chong, raised his voice, saying, "With the spread of the Omicron virus, the government's quarantine measures have become virtually useless," and "Self-employed business owners who have complied with quarantine guidelines have fallen into despair, and we cannot help but be angry at the government's incompetence in blaming the self-employed."

On the 14th, a member of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions Self-Employed Workers' Union is shaving their head in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, urging for retroactive application of loss compensation and opposition to the application of the Labor Standards Act to workplaces with fewer than five employees. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Earlier, self-employed business owners pushed to the brink by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic even carried out a '299-person relay head-shaving protest of anger and resistance' to oppose the government's quarantine policies. About 300 self-employed business owners held a protest rally near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 25th of last month and conducted a group head-shaving protest. The day before the rally, they issued a statement criticizing, "On the 14th, the government extended social distancing for three weeks, ignoring the plight of self-employed business owners," and "They are trying to cover it up with meager additional support that is less than a month's rent."

The peak of self-employed business owners' anger stems from maintaining stringent social distancing and the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system) policies despite a relaxed quarantine and medical system. With epidemiological investigation methods changed to 'self-reporting,' there is criticism that the effectiveness of social distancing and the quarantine pass has diminished.

As the controversy grew, quarantine authorities mentioned the possibility of easing social distancing. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at a regular briefing on the 15th that even if new confirmed cases increase, if the medical system, including management of severe cases, remains stable, social distancing will be eased. He announced plans to announce social distancing adjustment measures on Friday, the 18th.

However, experts argue that easing social distancing is premature. Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital wrote on his Facebook on the 14th, "We cannot even manage the increasing confirmed cases properly; isolation and notification releases are not done correctly, and we do not properly inform how to handle general management groups whose conditions have worsened. Are we sending a signal that social distancing might be eased?" He added, "Severe cases are beginning to increase in earnest; please do not worsen the crisis yourselves." This means that easing social distancing is inappropriate at this time.

Consequently, there is growing support for hastening the payment of the second round of quarantine support funds for small business owners rather than hastily adjusting social distancing under pressure. On the 15th, a netizen on the self-employed community 'Because It's Painful, I'm a Boss' said, "The Democratic Party and the People Power Party are squabbling over the (loss compensation) amount. Small business owners are caught in the crossfire like shrimps in a whale fight," expressing, "It's even harder than during the IMF crisis."

On the 14th, a petition demanding the prompt payment of the second round of quarantine support funds was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. The petitioner emphasized, "(The government) is shifting all the pain onto self-employed business owners," and urged, "We must promptly negotiate and pay the quarantine support funds."

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok, Democratic Party Floor Leader Yoon Ho-jung, and People Power Party Floor Leader Kim Ki-hyun are heading to their seats after taking a commemorative photo before a meeting regarding the first supplementary budget bill of the year at the Speaker's Office of the National Assembly on the morning of the 14th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, with the National Assembly plenary session imminent, the ruling and opposition parties have yet to narrow their differences over the scale of the quarantine support funds for small business owners. On the 14th, the two parties' floor leaders met at the National Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Park Byeong-seok to discuss the supplementary budget for the plenary session. The government announced plans to provide quarantine support funds of 3 million KRW per person to 3.2 million people, including small business owners, but the People Power Party insists the amount should be increased to 10 million KRW. The Democratic Party proposed a compromise plan to first provide 3 million KRW and then support additional funds through a second supplementary budget after the presidential election, but the opposition party did not accept this.

Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party, told reporters after consultations, "The disaster relief fund for small business owners will be paid first at a level agreed upon by the government, and the opposition party can support the parts not reflected after the presidential election," adding, "We proposed to process the first 3 million KRW support, but due to opposition from the opposition party, no agreement was reached."

Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, argued, "The support fund for small business owners should be 10 million KRW to provide proper and sufficient compensation," and "The loss compensation rate should also be raised from the current 80% to 100%." He continued, "We clearly stated the position that those in the compensation blind spots should receive at least 1 million KRW each, and including this, there is no need to postpone it further," adding, "When the supplementary budget is submitted now, it should be supported quickly and promptly, not delayed."

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