South Korean President Moon Jae-in turned most urgent-to-date in the battle against the new coronavirus (COVID-19), commanding “all possible actions” to rein in the spread as it is “absolutely” necessary to minimize the impact on the economy.

The president who only recently complained of “overhyped” anxiety to the mysterious disease during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday declared it was an “emergency” situation demanding exceptional ingeniousness in policy actions.

“Do not stop to ask if an action is precedented or not. Table all possible options and employ all possible means,” he said as he cited observation that the economic toll from the latest infectious disease could be heavier and more lasting than the past outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015.

Expediting budget and reserves cannot be enough, he said, ordering special aid and tax reliefs for smaller companies and merchants.

He also proposed cash vouchers or cashback bonuses to promote consumption at a time retailers and diners are suffering as spread of infectious disease keeps people inside.

The president’s change of tone comes as institutions have been slashing growth estimates for the country heavily reliant on China for traveling sourcing and commerce as the result of the epidemic stemming from China.

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday revised down this year’s growth outlook for Korea to 1.9 percent from 2.1 percent. Nomura Securities projected the first-quarter growth in gross domestic product of Korea could slow to 0.2 percent at best or contract as much as 2.9 percent in the worst scenario.

It predicted if the outbreak is contained, the economy could rebound to manage a 1.8 percent. If the virus scare lasts most of the year, the Korean growth could stop at 1.3 percent or even 0.5 percent.

On the previous day, the government announced a financial support package worth 420 billion won ($355 million) in an emergency measure to help industries such as transportation, tourism and restaurant businesses hit hard by the outbreak. It pledged to offer an emergency loan of up to 300 billion won to local budget carriers that had to cut their services. Shippers and travel agencies will also receive 60 billion won and 50 billion won in emergency funding.

By Park Yong-beom and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]