Moody's on March 5 said the Korean government's supplementary budget to minimize the economic losses incurred by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) could boost the economy. (Yonhap News)
By Kim Young Deok and Lee Jihae
An international credit ratings agency Moody's positively assessed on March 5 the supplementary budget passed by the Korean government to fight the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Moody's Senior Vice President Christian de Guzman said of the KRW 11.7 trillion in additional funds, "The supplementary budget presented by Korea's government – along with the support packages announced last month – provides even greater support to the economy without representing a material deterioration in the government's fiscal position."
"We continue to expect that Korea will maintain government debt levels that are lower relative to other similarly-rated advanced economy peers."
He also cited the "uncertainties around the severity and duration of the coronavirus outbreak" as risk factors needing additional fiscal stimulus.
To keep up the fight against COVID-19, the government announced on Feb. 28 a policy worth KRW 20 trillion and the Cabinet in a March 4 meeting decided on the supplementary budget.
Scale and management plans of government's supplementary budget for fighting COVID-19 (Ministry of Economy and Finance)