ZCZC
BCN-02
SKOREA-BUDGET-RECOVERY-RECESSION
South Korea plans $29 bn virus stimulus
SEOUL, June 3, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The South Korean government on Wednesday
proposed its biggest stimulus package yet as it seeks to prop up an economy
dragged down by the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has already thrust the world’s 12th-largest economy into a 1.3-
percent quarter-on-quarter contraction in the January-March period, the
biggest drop in gross domestic product since the 2008 global financial crisis.
The 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion) package is the third announced by the
government of Moon Jae-in in response to the virus, after boosts of 11.7 and
12.2 trillion won in March and April.
It is highly likely to be passed by parliament, where Moon’s Democratic
party has an overall majority.
The objectives include the creation of 550,000 jobs, the finance ministry
said, and providing “emergency funds” to business owners and small- to medium-
size companies hit by the outbreak, with nearly 10 trillion won earmarked to
enhance employment and social safety nets.
More than two-thirds of the 35.3-trillion won plan will come from issuing
state bonds, according to the finance ministry, while the remaining will be
funded through government spending readjustments.
South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the coronavirus
outside mainland China, and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown,
strict social distancing was widely observed from March until it started
loosening restrictions last month.
But the Bank of Korea forecast last week that the economy will shrink 0.2
percent in 2020, a dramatic downgrade from its February forecast of 2.1-
percent growth, and cut interest rates to a record low.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the world economy will
contract three percent this year, saying it is expected to “experience its
worst recession since the Great Depression” over the pandemic.
The IMF has predicted the South Korean economy will shrink 1.2 percent this
year.
BSS/AFP/MMA/0945HRS