문대통령 수보회의 주재... "경제살리기 시작도 끝도 일자리"
It's jobs, jobs, and jobs. That's President Moon Jae-in today as he vowed all out efforts to make sure the private sector keeps people employed and the public sector rolls out temporary emergency jobs... as challenges arise from the coronavirus pandemic.
Arirang News' Blue House correspondent Kim Minji reports.
President Moon Jae-in says the government will be directing all policy efforts toward protecting jobs... saying that it's the core of economic revitalization.
During a meeting with his top aides on Monday,... President Moon noted the rise in unemployment,.... urging for strong and aggressive support measures to enable companies to keep people employed.
Some 156-thousand people applied for unemployment benefits in March,... up almost 25-percent on year.
This may just be the start of the pain. We must draw up special measures and not waste the opportunity. The government will focus on policies that protect jobs amid the economic crisis.
The president stressed that the country cannot afford a repeat of the mass unemployment it saw during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
Moon also called for measures to protect freelancers and the self-employed, who are not covered by employment insurance,... as well as support for those that have already been laid off.
Moon added that the public sector must also play its part by advancing public projects or providing temporary emergency jobs.
The president said employment will be on the agenda for next week's emergency economic council meeting.
If employment fails, people's livelihoods will collapse and the social costs incurred will be beyond description. Spending money to maintain jobs is not a waste. Considering the welfare spending that's needed when someone loses a job, we can actually reduce the cost, and it will be a productive investment for the future.
President Moon also thanked people for practicing social distancing,... saying that quarantine is the start of getting the economy back on track.
He added that if South Korea can hold the elections this week while maintaining quarantine efforts... it could provide hope to the international community about life returning to normal.
But, he stressed that the biggest enemy is getting caught off guard.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.
