[First Livelihood Measure of Yoon Administration] Loss Compensation Fund Starts Today... "80% Paid Within 5 Days"

Agreement on Supplementary Budget Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Ahead of Local Elections
Ministry of Economy and Finance Confirms Execution Plan for Supplementary Budget
80% to Be Paid Within 5 Days from Today
Yoon: "Financial Authorities, Execute Swiftly"

On the morning of the 30th, ahead of the execution of the supplementary budget for COVID-19 loss compensation, President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending a senior secretaries' meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul and drinking water.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

With the confirmation of an additional supplementary budget (supplementary budget) worth 62 trillion won, loss compensation payments of up to 10 million won will be provided from the afternoon of the 30th to small business owners and self-employed individuals who suffered damage due to COVID-19 quarantine measures. The ruling and opposition parties had experienced difficulties over the payment targets and retroactive application, but reached a dramatic agreement three days before the local elections. The government plans to promptly complete the disbursement by paying 80% of the loss compensation within five days starting from that day.

On the morning of the same day, the government held an extraordinary Cabinet meeting at the Government Seoul Office Building, presided over by Prime Minister Han Deok-su, to review and approve the second supplementary budget allocation plan. Prime Minister Han said, "This supplementary budget is a good precedent passed on the scheduled date through a single agreement between the ruling and opposition parties," adding, "As such events accumulate, mutual trust between the parties will build, and it will be a kind of first step toward agreeing on more important and larger national agendas in the future."

The area of greatest interest in this supplementary budget is compensation for small business damages, to which a total of 25.8575 trillion won has been allocated. Of this, the majority, 23 trillion won, will be used as loss compensation payments to small business owners and the self-employed. Prime Minister Han explained, "Rather than giving a lot to everyone, the policy is to provide substantial support to socially vulnerable and those in difficulty," and added, "This supplementary budget is the current administration's first concrete economic policy aimed at that goal."

The loss compensation payments were finalized at 6 million to 10 million won as originally proposed by the government. Payments will be divided into nine tiers based on individual business sales and sales decline rates, with a minimum of 6 million won and a maximum of 8 million won. For 50 industries with a sales decline rate of 40% or more and medium-sized enterprises with annual sales of 5 billion won or less that complied with quarantine measures, support will be increased to 7 million to 10 million won. The total number of eligible recipients reaches 3.71 million.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, at the presidential secretary meeting held in the Yongsan Presidential Office on the morning of the same day, commented on the passage of the supplementary budget by the National Assembly, saying, "Compensation for losses due to government restrictions on property rights during the COVID-19 quarantine process is a natural obligation as a rule-of-law country," and urged, "Financial authorities should promptly execute the disbursement so that small business owners and micro self-employed individuals, who are almost gasping for breath, can quickly receive living stabilization funds."

The government plans to complete support as quickly as possible under the policy of "same-day application, same-day payment." Applications will be accepted from 12:00 PM on the day until July 29, about two months, with payments made six times a day. If applicants apply by 7:00 PM, the last payment of the day will be deposited by 9:00 PM on the same day.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance held an emergency fiscal management inspection meeting on the same day and finalized detailed supplementary budget execution plans. The ministry plans to pay 80% of the loss compensation within five days and 90% within ten days. Emergency employment stabilization funds for 800,000 freelancers and others will be accepted starting July 8 and payments will begin on July 13, while support funds for corporate taxis and others will be paid from the end of next month.

Choi Sang-dae, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said, "We plan to speedily execute major supplementary budget projects for livelihood stabilization, such as loss compensation payments, starting today so that citizens can quickly overcome difficulties in their livelihoods and business operations and make a new leap forward."

President Yoon also emphasized that the government must make every effort as inflation is expected due to factors such as the execution of this supplementary budget. He said, "The Bank of Korea has significantly raised its inflation forecast from 4.5% to 5%. Inflation is the most important task for livelihood stabilization," and ordered, "The new government should mobilize all available means to fully stabilize consumer prices for the people."

On the morning of the same day, when meeting reporters on his way to the presidential office, President Yoon responded to a question about concerns over inflation due to the supplementary budget by saying, "Then should we not pass the supplementary budget?" and added, "We will manage the inflation issue in detail."

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