President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday called for the support of businesses, labor unions and financial institutions in minimizing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the government’s efforts alone would be insufficient.

Speaking at a meeting with leaders of business, financial and labor organizations, Moon said that the country’s economy is facing an unprecedented crisis.

“COVID-19 is impacting both supply and demand, and causing a compound crisis of real (economy) and financial sector. As it is a problem faced by the globe, the chances are high that the economic crisis becoming protracted,” Moon said, saying that the government’s economic stimulus package will not be sufficient to offset the problem.

The government has drawn up an 11.7 trillion-won ($9.4 billion) supplementary budget to address economic issues raised by the outbreak, and an economic stimulus package worth 20 trillion won to boost domestic consumption.

“As the situation is completely different to past economic crises, unprecedented measures are needed.”

The attendants included chiefs of business lobbies Park Yong-maan, chief of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, leaders of the two umbrella unions -- Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and Federation of Korean Trade Unions -- and state-run banks.

Saying that measures such as subsidies for small merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises will be rolled out quickly, Moon said the government will ensure that aid is given to those most in need.

“While responding to the global economic impact, additional preemptive, bold and sufficient measures will be continued to revitalize the economy, and an all-out effort will be made to stabilize the financial market,” Moon said.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, the president stressed the importance of the speed with which the measures are introduced, and support of the organizations the attendants of the meeting represent.

“The president emphasized speed, and said that economic entities’ proactive participation is as important as the government’s drive,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok said.

At the meeting, Moon also stressed the importance of international cooperation on both economic and public health issues, going on to say that his government is working to enable Koreans to travel for business purposes.

According to Cheong Wa Dae, the attendants of the meeting voiced support for the government’s measures, while calling for more drastic measures.

“There are overwhelming number of companies that are feeling liquidity shortages. The government has proposed a number of measures, but what matters is the speed,” KCCI chief Park Yong-maan was quoted as saying by the presidential office.

At the meeting, Korea Enterprises Federation chairman Sohn Kyung-shik asked the government to take further measures, and called for a reduction in corporate taxes to be reviewed.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)