South Korea mulls additional relief for self-employed and small businesses
- Claire Lee
South Korea is mulling its fourth COVID-19 relief fund by March or April this year to help the self-employed and small businesses affected by the pandemic.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance and related ministries began discussing the time and scale of the fourth round of relief handouts on Tuesday, according to Pulse News.
In a cabinet meeting on the same day, President Moon Jae-in urged that it is inevitable to lessen the burden on the owners of small-sized businesses and the self-employed by disbursing COVID-19 relief subsidies.
Lee Nak-yeon, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, speaking at the National Assembly, said that he will get sufficient supplementary budget in a timely manner, pushing for a mix of selective support for small-sized business owners and a comprehensive provision for all citizens, according to South Korean newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo.
READ: Pandemic causes South Korea’s wage disparity to widen
As for the unconditional subsidies for all citizens, Lee said that the time of disbursement will depend on the trajectory of COVID-19.
The supplementary budget is reported to be in the scale of 20 trillion won (US$17.9 billion) to 30 trillion won (US$26.8 billion).
