Ministry of Economy and Finance: "10 Trillion KRW Quarantine Support Fund, 97.5% Paid... 1Q Loss Compensation to be Paid in Early June"

3rd Fiscal Management Review Meeting

Ando-geol, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance (center), is presiding over the '3rd Fiscal Management Review Meeting' held at the Government Seoul Office on the 18th. March 18, 2022. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that the execution rate of the first supplementary budget amounting to a total of 16.3 trillion won, confirmed last February, stands at 84.2% (as of March 16). In particular, 97.5% of the second round of quarantine support funds totaling 10 trillion won has been disbursed.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 18th, Ando-geol, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry, held the '3rd Fiscal Management Inspection Meeting' in the afternoon to review the execution performance of the supplementary budget and the fiscal management conditions for the first quarter.

The government assessed that domestic demand recovery has stalled due to the recent spread of the Omicron virus, inflation continues to rise, and the Ukraine crisis has further increased domestic and international uncertainties. Accordingly, to cope with downside risks to the economy, the government plans to swiftly execute the main budget for the first half of the year and timely implement the supplementary budget, concentrating all efforts on fiscal policy.

As of the 16th, central government finances have executed a total of 155.3 trillion won (24.6%). This is an increase of 17.9 trillion won (+2.3 percentage points) compared to the previous year.

During the same period, excluding the contingency fund (600 billion won), 14.3 trillion won (87.3%) of the 16.3 trillion won supplementary budget was executed. Major cash support projects totaling 13.5 trillion won?including the second round of quarantine support funds (10 trillion won), small business loss compensation (2.8 trillion won), emergency employment stabilization funds (400 billion won), and income stabilization funds for corporate taxi and bus drivers (200 billion won)?have actually disbursed 11.1 trillion won (82.1%). This exceeded the initially planned first-quarter execution target of 80%.

In particular, the second round of quarantine support funds (10 trillion won) began disbursement just two days after the supplementary budget was confirmed through prior preparation. So far, out of 3.32 million eligible businesses, 3.31 million have received a total of 9.7 trillion won (97.5%).

Regarding the 2.8 trillion won small business loss compensation, as of the 16th, a total of 1.1 trillion won (39.4%) has been paid to 435,000 businesses. The Ministry plans to finalize the criteria for losses incurred in the first quarter of this year and start payments in early June, aiming to complete 100% payment within the third quarter.

The government also plans to prepare financial support for Gangwon-do and Gyeongbuk regions, recently declared special disaster areas. Vice Minister Ando-geol requested "the prompt completion of damage surveys and recovery plan establishment at the central government level regarding the scale and amount of damage caused by wildfires," adding, "We will proactively review necessary financial support measures so that once the recovery plan is established, fiscal execution can begin swiftly."

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