May Consumer Sentiment Index 77.6... "Effect of Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Payment"
Among the 10 households eligible for the government emergency disaster relief fund due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 9 households applied for and received the support. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 22nd that the total amount of emergency disaster relief funds paid from the 4th to the 21st was 12.1068 trillion won, with 19.21 million households receiving the funds. On this day, citizens are shopping at Tongin Market in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Starting from the 4th of next month, it will be possible to change the usage area of the emergency disaster relief fund to the region where one has moved. This is expected to further activate the consumption of the emergency disaster relief fund.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 30th, if a citizen who received the support fund via credit or debit card moves to another metropolitan local government after March 29, they will be able to change the usage area of the support fund from the 4th of next month regardless of the number of times.
This change in usage area is expected to accelerate the consumption of the disaster relief fund. The government originally accepted applications for the emergency disaster relief fund based on the head of household's resident registration address as of March 29 and allowed usage only within the local government of that address.
As the consumption of the emergency disaster relief fund speeds up, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCSI) is expected to rise further. In fact, according to the 'May 2020 Consumer Survey Results' announced by the Bank of Korea on the 26th, the May CCSI recorded 77.6, an increase of 6.8 points from the previous month (70.8). The CCSI is an index that comprehensively represents consumers' sentiment about the economic situation.
A Bank of Korea official said, "The distribution of the emergency disaster relief fund appears to have contributed to the index increase as part of the government's economic stimulus measures."
Furthermore, as household consumption partially recovers due to the emergency disaster relief fund, the business sentiment index also rebounded for the first time in five months. According to the 'May Business Survey Index' (BSI) announced by the Bank of Korea on the 27th, the business condition index for all industries recorded 53, up 2 points from the previous month.
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