Empowering Economics is proud to introduce our second guest-written blog! We’re so excited to have you guys read Sanvi's post about South Korea's recent government policies and interventions.
Read until the end to find out a little bit more about Sanvi!
The Korean government has taken intrusive measures to flatten the curve of new COVID-19 infections without having to practice lockdown. South Korea has reduced its new daily cases by more than 90 percent from proximity to China.
The president unveiled a sharp increase in spending due to the fallout of the pandemic to almost $200 bn. There have been efforts in triangulating data to track patients’ whereabouts and schedules every 2 weeks by the local monitoring team staggering 15,000 tests per day. Also Quarantine violators face up to 3 million won ($2500) fines. If a recent bill becomes law, the fine will go up to 10 million won and as much as a year in jail. In March, 195,000 South Koreans lost their jobs, the sharpest monthly decline since May 2009, during the US mortgage subprime crisis.
The government has also taken out a rescue package of 29.1 trillion won to save companies and help the crashing stock and bond markets. In the first 20 days of April, South Korean exports fell by 27 per cent, to US$ 21.7 billion.The country practiced social distancing from March 22nd – April 5th and issued administrative orders to restrict the use of facilities, which operated with certain guidelines such as social distancing and mask wearing. Furthermore, strong border control and safety measures like not allowing international employees to return to the office until 2 weeks upon their return has also helped. More than 21,000 businesses applied for emergency loans that were offered by the government.
The Government provided three financial stimulus packages designed from the reserve funds and supplementary budget of over 50 trillion to help maintain businesses, ease the burden on borrowers and avoid credit crunch. For example, emergency financial measure allows small business owners to delay the repayment of loans for at least six months and suspend making interest payments.
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A Word from the Writer!
Hi, I am Sanvi Jain currently studying in Grade 12. I am a social enthusiast and I love to help society through my participation in NGO'S or any events. I wish to pursue Economics and Business Management in the future.