FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony marking the 101st anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day in Seoul, South Korea, March 1, 2020. Kim Min-Hee/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
April 8, 2020
By Cynthia Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday the government will make an additional 36 trillion won ($29.5 billion) worth of cheap loans available for exporters hit by the coronavirus.
Speaking at a policy meeting with economic chiefs, Moon said businesses and domestic demand devastated by the coronavirus pandemic deserves additional support which the government plans to provide through policy banks, tax benefits and other measures.
Loan guarantees will be extended for exporters, while debt will be rolled over for small businesses. Fresh measures worth 17.7 trillion won will be rolled out to boost consumption and support domestic demand, he added, without giving details.
Wednesday’s announcement adds to planned economic rescue package of 100 trillion won ($80 billion) in late March designed to help companies and put a floor under crashing stocks and bond markets.
South Korea, which has been praised for its fast and effective response to the pandemic, has recorded a total of 10,384 coronavirus cases as of midnight Tuesday, with 200 deaths.
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Lincoln Feast.)
