SEOUL, The following is the gist of the 14 trillion-won (US$11.8 billion) extra budget that the finance ministry proposed Friday to support small merchants hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and back antivirus efforts.
▲ 11.5 trillion won for pandemic-hit merchants
— 9.6 trillion won will be spent to provide 3 million won each to 3.2 million merchants to help them ease the burden of paying rent and other costs
— 1.9 trillion won will be used to shore up the state scheme to compensate merchants and the self-employed for their losses caused by the government’s tighter distancing rules.
▲ 1.5 trillion won for antivirus efforts
— 400 billion won will be set aside to increase hospital beds for critically ill coronavirus patients
— 600 billion won will be spent to buy COVID-19 treatment pills and shots.
— 500 billion won will be used to support COVID-19 patients who receive treatment at home
▲ 1 trillion won for reserve funds
— to shore up reserve funds to brace for quarantine demand amid the spread of the omicron variant
▲ The finance ministry plans to sell government bonds worth 11.3 trillion won to finance the extra budget
Source: Yonhap News Agency