[Yoon Seok-yeol Elected] Will Quarantine Policies Change... Focus on Social Distancing Revision and 'Endemic' Response

President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is performing an uppercut ceremony for supporters in front of the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] With the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration on May 10, changes are expected in the existing COVID-19 quarantine system. President-elect Yoon has criticized the Moon Jae-in administration's quarantine measures as "nonsense" and has emphasized ‘scientific quarantine.’ Concrete measures such as the reorganization of the social distancing system and the expansion of compensation for losses to small business owners and self-employed individuals are being discussed. President-elect Yoon's quarantine policy is expected to focus on responding to the endemic phase of COVID-19 following the peak spread of the Omicron variant.

The Yoon Suk-yeol Government Facing the ‘Endemic’ Test

As of midnight on the 10th, the number of new confirmed cases reached 327,549, marking two consecutive days of over 300,000 cases, experts predict that the COVID-19 outbreak will reach its peak within the next one to two weeks. If the number of new confirmed cases begins to decline after the peak, it is expected that the Omicron variant outbreak will somewhat ease by May, when the Yoon Suk-yeol government officially takes office. If this forecast becomes reality, the new government's quarantine policy will inevitably focus on the endemicization of COVID-19.

Although it is difficult to predict exactly how the outbreak phase will progress and variables inevitably exist in the government's quarantine policy, a change in quarantine policy is certain with President-elect Yoon's inauguration. According to the People Power Party’s presidential campaign pledge book, President-elect Yoon promised to completely reorganize the COVID-19 response system within 100 days of taking office. Specifically, this includes implementing quarantine measures based on science and big data, converting public medical institutions into dedicated hospitals, establishing emergency temporary wards, and completely reorganizing the COVID-19 patient transport system. He also promised to introduce a ‘national responsibility system’ for COVID-19 vaccine side effects. The government will take responsibility for proving causality of side effects and pledged to establish a vaccine-related national reporting center and a damage relief fund. Additionally, plans include securing essential medical personnel and introducing a ‘public policy fee’ for rapid response in emergencies.

Expansion of Compensation for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed

Right after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, the scale of compensation support for small business owners is also expected to increase. As social distancing has prolonged, the damage to small business owners and the self-employed has snowballed, and the government intends to prioritize resolving this issue. President-elect Yoon presented emergency rescue for overcoming COVID-19 as a top pledge and promised full compensation by securing more than 50 trillion won in fiscal funds.

Specifically, the compensation support amount will be increased up to 50 million won, a pre-compensation system will be implemented where half of the support amount is paid first, and special guarantees exceeding 5 trillion won will be promoted to meet urgent funding demands. If the debt of self-employed individuals worsens, the government will collectively purchase and manage debts at risk of default, and a ‘rent-sharing system’ will be introduced where the state, landlords, and tenants each bear one-third of the rent. Tax support will also be expanded, including a temporary 50% reduction in burdens such as value-added tax, electricity, and water bills for small self-employed businesses for up to two years after the end of COVID-19, a full temporary tax credit for rent reductions, and a temporary expansion of the consumer prepayment tax credit rate.

This emergency rescue program will be managed by the ‘COVID-19 Emergency Rescue Special Headquarters’ to be established directly under the president. In addition, support for the tourism industry, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, has also been promised. This includes financial and loan support for tourism operators, establishment of social safety nets for tourism workers, support for business closures and recovery of tourism operators, and application of loss compensation for the travel industry.

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