GOVT’S COVID-19 RELIEF PAYMENTS

[Anchor Lead]

Although President Moon Jae-in recently announced that the government will make a third round of COVID-19 relief payments worth 9.3 trillion won, pundits say it's unlikely to help alleviate small businesses' financial woes, as quite a few small businesses have yet to receive subsidies from the previous, second relief fund. Here's more.

[Pkg]

Kim Bum-jung runs a gym. It had to be closed repeatedly since the pandemic began. He lost almost all customers since July.

[Soundbite] KIM BUM-JUNG(APPLICANT OF SECOND DISASTER RELIEF FUND) : "I have no customers and no income, even when my place is open."

Kim can't wait to receive the government's disaster relief fund, but nobody knows when it's going to happen.

[Soundbite] (DISASTER RELIEF FUND CALL CENTER(VOICE ALTERED)) : "The results are not available yet because there's so much to deliberate on. (How many applications do you have to process?) Around 30,000. We can move on to paying out the third relief fund only after processing the backlog."

This family that recently closed a taekwondo center due to COVID-19 is also struggling to make ends meet. The husband has no choice but to work as a daily laborer to support his family.

[Soundbite] YOO EL(APPLICANT OF SECOND DISASTER RELIEF FUND) : "I'm grateful for the second disaster relief package. It feels like a large sum for my family, but we have yet to receive it. It's our last hope that we're desperately clinging on to."

The third disaster relief package has been announced. But still, many small businesses have yet to receive funding from the second one. What's more frustrating is that nobody can give them a clear answer on when they will be able to receive help and why it's being delayed.

[Soundbite] (APPLICANT OF SECOND DISASTER RELIEF FUND(VOICE ALTERED)) : "I wouldn't be so angry if they provided me with detailed explanations. They just keep saying they'll pay me this week. Then another week passes, and I still get nothing. This happened seven times already."

[Soundbite] (APPLICANT OF SECOND DISASTER RELIEF FUND(VOICE ALTERED)) : "They promised to pay me before Chuseok, but now I can't even reach them by phone. I call them 15 times a day. With the second fund yet to be paid, how can they pay the third one?"

The government announced that applications for the third disaster relief package will be received early this month.