President Moon Jae-in says he will preside over an emergency economic meeting to swiftly decide and enforce special response measures to minimize the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Moon said the current economic situation surrounding the new coronavirus is much more serious compared to that from the 2008 global financial crisis.

The president said the pandemic has paralyzed consumption and production, drastically weakening demand and supply, while hitting both the real economy and the financial market.

Moon said what's more concerning is that countries have shut down their borders in fear over the pandemic, suggesting that the global economic fallout could be protracted.

Moon said the emergency economic meeting will serve as the control tower to overcome the current situation, alongside the central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters led by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. 

The president then urged officials to mobilize all necessary means to swiftly enforce unprecedented, special and effective countermeasures to overcome the economic emergency.