Human Rights Measure

The National Assembly passed the 2021 budget which “expands COVID-19 support and other supports for national priorities by 7.5 trillion won, while cutting 5.3 trillion won in other areas.” The “budget increase will be used to finance COVID-19 support and other national priorities” including “[v]irus control” (including vaccinations, disease control, and public healthcare), and to “[i]mprove essential worker welfare and promote job retention.” Subsequently, in March 2021, the National Assembly passed the “2021 supplementary budget, worth 14.9 trillion won” which “will be spent mostly on COVID-19 reliefs, including small business support, and job retention and creation programs, as well as disease control measures.” This will take the shape of, among other measures, “[s]upport for virus-hit small business,” “assistance for farmers and fishermen,” and “virus-exposed or -hit worker support.”