COMPENSATIONS FOR BUSINESS LOSSES

[Anchor Lead]

Small businesses continue to sustain losses due to the prolonged pandemic. Political parties are urging the National Assembly to pass a law on compensation for business losses. They will discuss the retroactive application of the law on Tuesday.

[Pkg]

In a rare show of unison, the Democratic Party, the People Power Party and the Justice Party are all calling for the same law. They say the state must compensate small businesses and the self-employed that have sustained losses due to the pandemic.

[Soundbite] Sim Sang-jeung(Justice Party(Apr. 25)) : "People must be able to endure the pandemic financially until everyone is vaccinated. Political affiliation doesn't matter when it comes to helping the public."

The key point is the retroactive application of the legislation in question. The PPP's Choi Seung-jae, who has been on a strike in front of the National Assembly for two weeks now to demand the retroactive application of the law, is urging parliament to pass it as soon as possible.

[Soundbite] Choi Seung-jae(PPP(Apr. 25)) : "Compensating small businesses and the self-employed is the unconditional obligation of the state stipulated in Article 23 of the Constitution."

The ruling party has echoed those calls.

[Soundbite] Min Byoung-dug(Democratic Party(Apr. 25)) : "Our leadership has strongly expressed its determination. Our floor leader is about to set up a taskforce on business compensation."

However, the government is opposed to retroactive application. The finance ministry cited the lack of funds and the issue of fairness in selecting those eligible.

[Soundbite] Hong Nam-ki(Acting Prime Minister(Apr. 19)) : "Selecting those eligible would be a challenge. Some people may be unhappy about retroactive application. Plus, there is no money for this. We had to issue government bonds to set an additional budget."

The rival parties are to continue discussions on the issue on Tuesday. The ruling party wants the government and the parties to reach a consensus, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to narrow their differences soon enough for the bill to be passed at the April plenary session.