President Moon: "Unprecedented Crisis, Directly Chairing Emergency Economic Meeting"

March 17 Cabinet Meeting on COVID-19 Global Economic Crisis Concerns... "More Severe Than 2008 Financial Crisis"

[Asia Economy Reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Son Seon-hee] President Moon Jae-in chaired a Cabinet meeting on the morning of the 17th at the Government Seoul Office regarding the 'Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19)' and stated, "This is an unprecedented emergency economic situation," adding, "Through an emergency economic meeting directly chaired by the President, we will swiftly decide on extraordinary measures and actions and respond strongly."

President Moon said, "As the President, I am fully aware of the serious threat to the national economy in the current situation, and I intend to overcome this emergency economic situation by pooling the government's capabilities," and urged, "I hope the government will quickly prepare so that the emergency economic meeting can be immediately activated."

President Moon explained, "The emergency economic meeting is the economic command center to navigate through this emergency economic situation," and added, "Together with the quarantine command center fighting the war against COVID-19, it will serve as one of the two pillars to break through the emergency phase in both the economy and quarantine."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon pointed out the emergency situation in the global economy caused by COVID-19. He said, "As COVID-19 spreads into a global pandemic, not only has an emergency arisen on the world's quarantine frontlines, but it has also dealt a severe blow to the economy, raising concerns that the global economy may fall into a recession."

In particular, President Moon noted, "The current situation is more serious than the 2008 global financial crisis, which originated from a financial sector crisis," diagnosing, "Not only routine social activities but also consumption and production activities have been paralyzed, causing both demand and supply to shrink sharply, and the real economy and financial markets are being hit simultaneously, resulting in a truly complex crisis."

President Moon expressed concern, saying, "What is even more serious is that the entire world is gripped by fear of the virus, closing borders and blocking movement between countries," adding, "Human exchanges have been cut off, and global supply chains could be shaken from the roots, making the economic shock much greater and potentially prolonged. It cannot be called anything other than an unprecedented emergency economic situation."

President Moon also delivered a message to the Cabinet members. First, he emphasized that the measures must be unprecedented, considering the unprecedented emergency situation. He said, "If necessary to overcome the current emergency phase, we must overcome any restrictions," and ordered, "This is not the time to hesitate or deliberate. If the measures are effective, we must mobilize all available resources and means, whatever they may be."

Furthermore, President Moon said, "The supplementary budget is not the end but the beginning," and urged, "The government has sequentially implemented policy responses combining the existing budget and the supplementary budget to support quarantine and damage recovery, emergency support measures for affected industries and sectors, and economic reinforcement. Please ensure that the comprehensive plan worth 32 trillion won is executed promptly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon added, "There is a strong demand for extraordinary support measures to be additionally devised at a groundbreaking level. In a situation where domestic demand is shrinking and the global economy is heading toward recession, if necessary to protect our economy and people's livelihoods, we must not hesitate to implement even stronger measures."

President Moon emphasized the priority of policies. He said, "We must first support those who are most vulnerable. We must help vulnerable individuals and businesses endure and survive this situation," and ordered, "In difficult times, support for the most vulnerable groups, those who have lost jobs or are struggling to make a living, must come first, and we must protect the jobs of workers facing the risk of unemployment."

President Moon said, "While responding swiftly to instability in financial and foreign exchange markets, necessary liquidity supply must be provided in a timely manner to prevent companies from closing due to financial difficulties," and added, "We must prepare to fully implement measures to stimulate consumption and revitalize domestic demand while calming the COVID-19 situation."

President Moon urged, "Globally, countries around the world will implement large-scale economic stimulus measures. I ask that we focus our capabilities on turning this opportunity into momentum for economic recovery in our economy."