First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom has called for all-out efforts to fight COVID-19, saying the second quarter will determine the nation’s overall economic growth for this year. 

Kim made the remark Friday during a policy review meeting in Seoul as he added that should the crisis originating in the health sector drag on, the more likely the nation will witness another that will rattle the real economy and financial sector.

He said the government will execute its two extra budgets and other measures on lessening the economic fallout from the pandemic in the second quarter, where COVID-19-related shocks are set to be concentrated. He said the government will exert all-out efforts to provide financial support and stabilization funds for key industries. 

Kim also emphasized the need for a shift in paradigm to regard the latest pandemic as a driving force to pursue mid- and long-term structural reform projects that had been pushed before the outbreak.