NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Leaders of G20, including President Moon Jae-in, will hold a special teleconference tomorrow to discuss ways to fight COVID-19 and overcome the economic crisis. Over a phone call yesterday Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the G20 chairing nation, and President Moon decided on the summit agendas such as how to contain the virus and how to minimize its negative effects on the economy.
Former prime minister and head of the Democratic Party's committee for COVID-19 Lee Nak-yeon said after today's Cheong Wa Dae, the government and the ruling Democratic Party meeting, that assistance to small businesses will be provided within two to three weeks, starting in April, and orders for national projects will be placed earlier than planned. He also added that all arrivals from abroad will be screened more thoroughly through the special entry procedure.
In accordance with the 60-billion-dollar currency swap deal concluded with the United States, Korea is expected to receive U.S. dollars sometime next week at the earliest. The currency swap concluded during the 2008 global financial crisis was for 30 billion dollars and Korea ended up receiving 16.4 billion dollars in total from the deal.
As small business owners find it increasingly difficult to keep their staff members or stay in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced today that it will temporarily increase its employment maintenance subsidy as much as 90% regardless of business size or type for three months, from April to June.