Korean economic policies for tackling COVID-19 impact explained in English

Published : Jun 11, 2020 - 13:42 Updated : Jun 11, 2020 - 13:42

The book cover of “Safeguarding Economic Resilience,” a new publication about South Korea’s policies to cushion the effects of coronavirus pandemic on the economy (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday it has published an English-language version of a booklet explaining its countermeasures against the economic shock due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the international community.

Titled “Safeguarding Economic Resilience,” the booklet introduces a number of fiscal measures that the government has implemented as well as some preliminary policies set up to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era, officials said.

Since February, when coronavirus infections spiked, the government has come up with a number of relief measures including emergency loan programs for low-income families and small and medium-sized businesses hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. In addition, the Korean version of a New Deal was recently unveiled to reshape the economy in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The English version of the booklet is aimed at sharing the country’s economic policies with its foreign partners and the contents are categorized into three separate sections -- protecting, preserving and preparing.

While the protecting and preserving part consists of ongoing policies -- ranging from financial aid to small business owners and low income households and stimulus plan for exports to tax benefits -- the preparing section elaborates on the New Deal scheme and other government-led support programs to prepare for the structural shifts in the local economy, including digital transformation across industries and eco-friendly corporate management.

The Finance Ministry plans to distribute copies of the new booklet to various government agencies, local embassies, foreign governments and international organizations as well as major foreign media organizations across the globe.

“By holding some joint events including web seminar, Korea will continue to strengthen its partnership with foreign governments and other related institutions in order to coordinate economic responses to the coronavirus pandemic,” the ministry said.

By Choi Jae-hee (cjh@heraldcorp.com)