NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says Korea's exports fell 23.7 percent year-on-year in the month of May, recording around 34.9 billion dollars and posting a decrease of over 20 percent for two consecutive months. The nation, however, has managed to avert trade deficit.
The ruling Democratic Party and the government have agreed to set a third extra budget, the largest in scope ever, to cope with the coronavirus crisis. The extra budget includes a larger credit guarantee fund to provide 10 trillion won in emergency relief funds to small businesses and the creation of 550,000 jobs.
At today's emergency economic meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae, the government pledged to provide tax breaks to encourage businesses to relocate to Korea and carry out a new deal by developing digital and eco-friendly technologies. Subsidies for companies that relocate to Korea will be raised from the current 10 billion won to 15 billion won for firms in the Seoul metropolitan area and 20 billion won in all other regions. Government funding will also be provided for smart manufacturing and robotics.
The Cultural Heritage Administration has designated the Manseru Pavilion of Seonunsa Temple in Gochang as National Cultural Property No. 2065 for its outstanding transformation with time. Most of the surviving Buddhist pavilions have three, five or seven sections, and only a paucity have nine, like Manseru.