Ahn Cheol-soo, Head of Transition Committee, Holds First Macroeconomic Subcommittee Meeting... "Discussion on Compensation for Small Business Owners' Damages" (Comprehensive)

Ahn Cheol-soo, the Chairman of the Transition Committee (from the left clockwise), is having the first lunch and working meeting in the Chairman's office on the 18th after the 1st plenary meeting of the Presidential Transition Committee, together with Choi Sang-mok, Secretary of the Economic Subcommittee 1, Shin Yong-hyun, spokesperson, Kim So-young, and Shin Sung-hwan.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Jeong Dong-hoon and Moon Je-won] Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition committee, held the first working meeting on the 18th with the Economic Subcommittee 1 members in charge of macroeconomic and financial policies. It is known that the meeting discussed compensation issues for self-employed and small business owners who were hit by COVID-19.

According to the transition committee’s press office, after concluding the first plenary meeting of the transition committee that day, Chairman Ahn had a lunch meeting combined with work discussions with Choi Sang-mok, secretary of Economic Subcommittee 1, transition committee members Shin Sung-hwan and Kim So-young, and transition committee spokesperson Shin Yong-hyun.

Meeting reporters in front of the transition committee, Chairman Ahn said, "The main topic was how to manage various macroeconomic crisis situations," adding, "We also talked about compensation for small business owners, and deeply discussed how to prevent stagflation (economic recession amid rising prices) if a large amount of money is suddenly released."

He further explained, "Going forward, we agreed to continue discussions cooperatively between Economic Subcommittee 1 and the soon-to-be-launched COVID-19 Response Special Committee."

The press office stated, "Participants discussed ways to help small business owners, self-employed individuals, and citizens affected by the ongoing COVID crisis, and to be sufficiently prepared for future pandemic situations." They also added, "They discussed measures to fully secure fiscal stability and sustainability through fiscal efficiency such as expenditure restructuring."

During his candidacy, President-elect Yoon had announced plans to secure more than 50 trillion won in fiscal funds to assist small business owners and self-employed people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide rightful loss compensation.

He also pledged to implement a 'COVID Emergency Relief Program' for 100 days after inauguration to support small business owners and the self-employed. This includes extensions of existing loan maturities, tax support on taxes, public charges, rents, and labor costs, as well as financial support.

There is talk that the COVID Emergency Response Special Committee within the transition committee, led directly by Chairman Ahn, will draft a specific supplementary budget scale for damage compensation, after which the government will prepare the supplementary budget proposal.

However, additional discussions in the National Assembly are expected regarding the scope of loss compensation, support scale, and funding methods. The Democratic Party has advocated securing funds through excess tax revenue and government bond issuance, while the People Power Party has pushed for securing funds through budget expenditure restructuring.

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