By Joori Roh

SEOUL (Reuters – South Korea announced a 14 trillion won (11.7 billion USD) supplementary budget Friday in support of the self-employed as well as small- and medium-sized businesses who have been severely affected by extended COVID-19 curbs.

The finance ministry stated that 11.5 trillion won will go to small businesses and compensation for their losses due to virus-related extensions.

An additional 1.5 trillion won has been set aside to purchase COVID-19 medication for 400,000 patients and 255,000 hospital beds.

If the Omicron coronavirus variant becomes more widespread and requires additional support, 1 trillion dollars will be kept as contingency funds.

For the additional stimulus funding, 11.3 trillion won will be issued in treasury bonds. The remaining 2.7 trillion won will come from public funds reserves.

On Monday, the extra budget will go to parliament. This comes as the Democratic Party struggles to win public support, just weeks before its 2022 presidential election.

The latest Supplemental Budget would see the government’s total spending rise to record levels of 621.7 trillion won, which is in addition to the 607.7 trillion won already approved budget.

The 2021 budget would have an 11.4% increase, and it’s expected to raise the ratio of government borrowing to GDP to record 50.1%.

South Korea’s stricter social isolation rules were extended for three additional weeks. There is a 9 pm curfew at restaurants, cafes, bars, and a limit on private gatherings. These measures are in response to concerns about a rising wave of Omicron, a highly contagious variant, particularly ahead of the Lunar New Year Holidays.

($1 = 1,191.1100 won)