[Weekly Review] 1 Million Won COVID-19 Support... Health Insurance Premium Under 237,000 Won for 4-Person Household

Vice Minister Yoon Jong-in of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announces the results of the joint task force (TF) of related ministries on the payment of emergency disaster relief funds in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City on the morning of the 3rd.
(Photo by Yonhap News)

The government decided last month to provide emergency disaster relief funds ranging from 400,000 to 1,000,000 KRW to households in the bottom 70% income bracket based on health insurance premiums. For a four-person household with a workplace subscriber, if the individual health insurance premium is 237,000 KRW or less, they will receive 1,000,000 KRW. Last month, consumer prices rose by over 1% for the third consecutive month. This was influenced by the increase in prices of processed foods and livestock products as more people stayed home due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

◆ Emergency relief funds based on combined March health insurance premiums of household members for bottom 70% income bracket = On the 3rd, the government held a meeting of the 'Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Inter-Ministerial Task Force (TF)' and set the eligibility criteria for the relief funds to be given to citizens struggling due to COVID-19. If the combined individual health insurance premiums of household members last month fall within the bottom 70% income bracket, the household qualifies for support. For workplace subscribers, the individual health insurance premium thresholds are 88,334 KRW for a single-person household, 150,025 KRW for two persons, 195,200 KRW for three persons, and 237,652 KRW for four persons. The payment amounts are 400,000 KRW for a single-person household, 600,000 KRW for two persons, 800,000 KRW for three persons, and 1,000,000 KRW for households of four or more.

◆ March consumer prices rise over 1% for the third consecutive month = According to the 'March Consumer Price Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the 2nd, the consumer price index last month was 105.54 (2015=100), up 1% from the previous year. The consumer price increase rate has been over 1% for three consecutive months this year: 1.5% in January, 1.1% in February, and over 1% in March. Prices of livestock products rose due to COVID-19, while automobile prices fell due to government policies such as the reduction of individual consumption tax on cars. As food ingredient consumption increased due to COVID-19, livestock products rose 6.7% compared to the same month last year, and processed foods increased by 1.7%. Passenger car prices fell 2.6% due to the government's individual consumption tax reduction.

◆ Foreign exchange reserves decline for two consecutive months... Impact of exchange rate stabilization measures = According to the 'End of March 2020 Foreign Exchange Reserves' announced by the Bank of Korea on the 3rd, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stood at 400.21 billion USD at the end of last month, down 8.96 billion USD from 409.17 billion USD at the end of the previous month. Foreign exchange reserves had been increasing since September last year and reached record highs for four consecutive months from October to January. However, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the strengthening of the US dollar, reserves began to decline from February. Last month, increased exchange rate volatility appears to have led authorities to use foreign exchange reserves for market stabilization measures.

◆ March exports down 0.2%... Negative turn due to COVID-19 impact = According to the 'March 2020 Export-Import Trends' announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 1st, last month's export value (customs clearance basis) was 46.91 billion USD, down 0.2% from a year earlier. Exports, which had turned positive for the first time in 15 months last month, declined again after one month due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The average daily export value excluding working days was 1.954 billion USD, down 6.4%. By item, major products such as semiconductors (-2.7%), general machinery (-3.8%), ships (-31.4%), petrochemicals (-9.0%), displays (-12.8%), steel (-6.5%), petroleum products (-5.9%), textiles (-8.8%), and home appliances (-0.3%) showed weakness. Automobiles (3.0%), auto parts (0.6%), wireless communication (13.3%), and computers (82.3%) showed favorable trends.