The First Public Appearance Scheduled at Namdaemun Market
Hearing Difficulties Caused by COVID-19 Through Merchant Meeting
President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol is greeting merchants and citizens at Namdaemun Market in Seoul on the 14th, marking his first official external schedule since his election. (Photo by Yonhap News)
[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Kim, Hyunji Kwon] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol met with traditional market merchants on the 14th as his first official external schedule after the election. This is interpreted as a gesture to comfort small business owners and self-employed people who suffered great damage due to COVID-19 and to focus on policies for them.
On that day, President-elect Yoon visited Namdaemun Market at noon and held a luncheon meeting combined with a discussion with the merchants.
At this event, he presented the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s prompt intention for COVID-19 loss compensation and damage response measures. Before the morning event, spokesperson Kim Eun-hye explained, "At the meeting with the merchants, we will listen carefully to the difficulties faced by small business owners and the self-employed."
Since COVID-19 response was a major focus during the election process, this is seen as a continuation of that effort. Among the top 10 pledges announced during his candidacy, President-elect Yoon placed "Overcoming COVID-19, Recovery and Leap" as number one. The main contents include "Saving Small Business Owners and the Self-Employed" and "Strengthening Infectious Disease Response Systems."
Just before the meeting with President-elect Yoon, Moon Nam-yeop, chairman of the Namdaemun Market Merchants Association, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "There are many urgent market issues related to COVID-19, but I plan to talk about the most urgent ones first," emphasizing, "I will explain the market parking lot installation issue and the easing of redevelopment restrictions." He added, "Due to COVID-19, customers have greatly decreased, so business is not going well for everyone, and many vacant stores are increasing. This problem needs to be resolved quickly."
Regarding President-elect Yoon’s pledge to provide 10 million won support to small business owners, Moon expressed both concerns and expectations. He said, "We think it is still not enough, but it would be good if as much compensation as possible is given to the merchants," adding, "Even among the self-employed, there are people inside Namdaemun Market who do not receive it and those who do. I hope it will be distributed fairly without leaving anyone out."
The day before, President-elect Yoon announced the transition committee appointments and said about the "10 million won support pledge for small business owners," "The basic amount will be about 10 million won," and "We are preparing by setting various criteria for loss details and quantifying and grading them."
President-elect Yoon showed special interest in COVID-19 response by separately establishing a "COVID-19 Crisis Response Special Committee" within the transition committee and having transition committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo concurrently serve as the special committee chairman. He considered Ahn, who has experience as a doctor and scientist, suitable for solving this issue. Regarding this, spokesperson Kim said, "This reflects the president-elect’s will to focus on compensation for the people who have fallen into hardship due to COVID-19 immediately after the election, as well as medical and quarantine issues."
At the meeting, President-elect Yoon emphasized, "If these people (small business owners and self-employed) are struggling, the whole country becomes difficult," and added, "These people need to firmly support the national economy and society as the middle class for the country to remain stable."
He also said, "I have been thinking a lot about whether the state should ensure that if people work hard, they can live to some extent," and "We have been preparing since the transition committee, and after inauguration, we will implement all the stories and promises shared with you promptly."
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