(Unofficial Translation)

Let me begin the 9th Cabinet Meeting. 

The situation in Ukraine is escalating into a serious crisis. Relevant ministries and agencies should swiftly and thoroughly cope with it by carefully monitoring our national security, the safety of Korean nationals there and the economic impact. I ask you to convene the National Security Council Standing Committee as well as the Economic and Security Strategy Meeting on International Issues as soon as this Cabinet Meeting is over to share information and once more review how to deal with the situation.

Yesterday, the National Assembly passed a 16.9 trillion won supplementary budget. Though belated, it is fortunate. Now is the time for the Government to act. The budget must be disbursed as fast as possible, so microbusiness owners and the self-employed are no longer waiting. 

National Assembly deliberations have resulted in the expansion of eligibility for compensation for commercial losses, and the rate of compensation has been raised to 90 percent from 80 percent, thereby increasing support for microbusiness owners. More of the self-employed, including those who pay simplified lower taxes, have become eligible for COVID-19 relief funds, and blind spots affecting vulnerable populations have been remedied as much as possible. The contract-based self-employed, freelancers and public transportation drivers have also become eligible for relief payments. Assistance for arts and culture professionals as well as caregiving services has been newly added. More budget funds for epidemic prevention and control have been earmarked to respond to the spread of the Omicron variant. As the number of confirmed cases swells, subsidies for living expenses and paid leave have been increased. Together with the distribution of at-home COVID-19 diagnostic kits, support for anti-epidemic frontline workers has been expanded.

I urge the Government to do everything possible to provide rapid support. Moreover, I ask everyone to continue to devise additional measures – on top of the supplementary budget – to help reduce the difficulties facing microbusiness owners and the self-employed, including extending the terms of their loans. 

Interest is very high in the “Youth Hope Installment Savings” program which was introduced yesterday. It was newly established this year to help young people suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic accumulate wealth. Young people with an annual income below 36 million won can open this savings account. It incentivizes making monthly bank account deposits up to the first 12 million won with no taxes on any interest accrued. Initially, this program was intended to support 380,000 young people. However, as the number applying is forecast to increase more sharply than expected, we will decide today how to run this program with significantly more applicants.

The Government will permit and support all of the young people who apply over the next two weeks, so that the limited number of accounts does not prevent anyone qualified from opening one. Every young person eligible will benefit. I hope this program helps them build assets, and I will do everything I can until the end of my term to provide more opportunities and hope to the young people who are going through difficult times.

At the last Cabinet meeting, a revision to the Public Official Election Act, which extended voting hours, was promulgated. Today, we will make a decision about revising the Enforcement Decree of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, which allows voters in quarantine or under home care to go out to vote. Consequently, we will be able to guarantee that all voters can vote whether they have COVID-19 or are in quarantine, and conditions will be created to hold elections more safely.

As the upcoming presidential election will be held amid the spread of the Omicron variant, it is particularly important to manage the election safely as well as guarantee suffrage. We already managed to become the first in the world to hold nationwide elections safely during the 2020 general election. Korea received a lot of praise from abroad for having managed the voting and counting process without the occurrence of a single confirmed case. At that time, international organizations such as the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance highly complimented our general election as a remarkable example of defending the election process against the chaos caused by COVID-19.

The ability to hold elections safely also served as a factor that raised our country’s democracy index. Our country joined the list of nations recognized as full democracies by ranking 23rd in the world in the 2020 EIU Democracy Index. Korea placed 16th in the recently announced 2021 ranking, having climbed seven more steps. Amid a decline in the average score of all the countries surveyed, both the score and ranking of our nation greatly improved. Expanded participation of the populace and enhanced autonomy, openness, freedom of speech and human rights as well as fair and safe election management also contributed to the rise of Korea’s democracy ranking.  

The Government will do all it can to make the upcoming presidential election also serve as an opportunity to further elevate the status of our country’s democracy. The election management and disease control authorities have to make thorough preparations so that people can feel at ease casting their ballots. They must also ensure watertight anti-epidemic supervision for the workers overseeing the election and the counting of ballots.

Voting by Korean nationals living abroad will be held at 219 places, including 177 diplomatic missions, from tomorrow. I ask you to do everything possible to manage the overseas voting process to ensure that voters residing or staying abroad can safely exercise their right to vote. I also would like the people to actively cooperate with epidemic prevention and control efforts during the election.