President Moon Jae-in says it was inevitable for the government to decide to give out a second round of COVID-19 relief payments tailored for hard-hit small business owners among others.  

Chairing a meeting of his senior secretaries and aides on Monday, Moon said the decision was inevitable in order to maximize the effect of limited resources. He stressed that at the present time, it’s imperative to help and resuscitate businesses and social classes hurting the most due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said while views that the second payouts should go to all people are reasonable, the reality is that there are major financial difficulties. 

The president noted that a fourth extra budget can only be created by being financed through the issuance of state bonds, saying the nation has yet to overcome the coronavirus crisis and there is no telling when this pandemic will end.  

Moon’s remarks come a day after the government and ruling Democratic Party agreed to create a fourth supplementary budget worth seven trillion won to combat the additional economic fallout from the prolonged pandemic.