South Korea unveils US$8.5 billion bundle to fight new COVID-19 wave
29 December, 2020
South Korea unveiled a brand new 9.3 trillion won (US$8.49 billion) bundle on Tuesday (Dec 29) to aid smaller businesses hit by a third wave of COVID-19 and the ones vulnerable to unemployment as a result of outbreak.
Of the total package, 5.6 trillion won will be utilized to invest in cash handouts to coronavirus-struck small businesses, temporary or freelance personnel and taxi drivers influenced by the prolonged pandemic, the finance ministry said.
About 2.9 trillion won will be utilized to support small- and medium-size enterprises including ski resorts and hotels, also to keep more Koreans in jobs.
The South Korean government has added new restrictions this week such as for example banning on gatherings of more than four persons and suspending ski resorts and tourist sports, targeted at stopping the virus spread during Christmas and New Year holidays.
Another 0.8 trillion won is targeted at strengthening the public health system.
The ministry said the cash handouts will be offered beginning with Jan 11, and expects that the most recent measures may help around a complete 5.8 million people.
On Monday, the country vowed to speed up efforts to launch a coronavirus vaccination programme since it continued to survey near-record daily instances and learned its first cases of the coronavirus variant associated with Britain.
Meanwhile, the US$8.5 billion bundle will be funded by the finance ministry's reserve fund, leftover budget for the year together with 2021 budget, the ministry said in a statement.
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