On May 10, 2020, the President of Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in, speaks on the occasion of the third anniversary of his inauguration at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea. This paper mainly focuses on his special address on the post-COVID-19 response. To see the full speech manuscript, please click the link (http://english1.president.go.kr/briefingspeeches/speeches/820)

“The post-COVID-19 global economic order is by no means a rosy picture. We have vividly witnessed how fragile the international community’s solidarity and cooperation is in the face of this virus.

The reality is grave, indeed. Nationalism driven by the pursuit of one country’s own survival may expand further. The division of labor in the era of globalization, which has been driving economic development worldwide to date, is under threat. It is also a very serious challenge to our economy, which has grown through openness and cooperation.

If we fail to turn this crisis into an opportunity, we cannot survive. It’s a desperate time; we must prepare for the future in a preemptive manner. 

Fellow Koreans,
For the remainder of my term in office, I will do my best to turn crises into opportunities while fully devoting myself to overcoming this national crisis along with the people. I will strive to pave the way for the Republic of Korea to take the lead globally. 

First, we will blaze a trail in the post-COVID-19 era with a pace-setting economy. Our country has excellent infrastructure and is ranked “No.1” worldwide for competitive edge in the ICT sector. Our competitiveness and potential in the bio industry have been reaffirmed. We have strengths in post-COVID-19-related industries such as non-face-to-face medical services, online education and transactions, infectious disease prevention and control and the bio industry. We have ample capabilities to lead the digital economy by combining Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data.

We will work to help the Republic of Korea emerge as a globally leading “digital powerhouse” with innovative business ventures and startups serving as the main driving force. We will create future growth engines by fostering three new growth industries – system semiconductors, biohealth and future cars – more vigorously.

The Republic of Korea has become the safest and most transparent production base in the world. Countries around the world have now begun to prefer innovative capabilities and safe investment destinations to cheap labor. This presents a golden opportunity for us. We will push ahead with bold strategies to attract high-tech industries and investments from overseas as well as to help Korean companies return from abroad. The Republic of Korea will become a “world factory of high-tech industries,” thereby changing the global industrial map. 

Second, we will further improve our employment safety net by significantly expanding the application of employment insurance and implementing an employment support program. We will keep the lives of all our people safe from unemployment and threats to their livelihoods.

In history, human beings have expanded welfare and strengthened safety nets in times of crisis. The United States laid the foundation for its social security system while going through the Great Depression, and our country introduced a national basic living security system earlier than planned while striving to overcome the 1997 foreign exchange crisis. The current COVID-19 crisis calls for further strengthening our still-vulnerable employment safety net. 

The Government will establish the cornerstone for an era of universal employment insurance which will benefit everyone employed. We will push to allow low-wage, non-permanent workers who are presently not covered to sign up for the insurance as soon as possible. We will work to quickly bring employment insurance to those currently not-covered – the self-employed contract workers, platform workers, freelancers and artists, among others. Through a social agreement, we will also gradually expand the eligibility for the insurance to cover all of the self-employed.  Expanding the employment safety net is an essential task to bolster our economy’s dynamism as well. The laws and system will be overhauled to broaden the range of eligible employment insurance subscribers step by step. The National Assembly’s understanding and cooperation are very important. I ask the Assembly to support this through legislation. 

Moreover, the employment support program – a Korean-style unemployment allowance – will be implemented as quickly as possible. The program will provide job training and other customized employment support to low-income households, young adults and self-employed small business owners and offer jobseekers stipends to facilitate employment and other types of income. If employment insurance is the primary employment safety net, the employment support program is a secondary one. It is an essential employment safety net for jobseekers and those who have been unemployed for a long time. A legislative bill has already been submitted to the National Assembly following an agreement at the Economic, Social and Labor Council. I urge the National Assembly to pass it as soon as possible.  Third, we will push ahead with a Korean version of the New Deal as a national project to create jobs. The Government will present new opportunities for the people by creating new jobs. 

The Korean version of the New Deal is a preemptive investment for the future, designed to establish digital infrastructure. The early establishment of 5G infrastructure and the building of infrastructure to collect, accumulate and use data will be pursued as national projects. Non-face-to-face industries related to medical services, education and retail distribution will be intensively fostered. The large-scale job creation project will be actively pursued: Cities and industrial complexes, roads and transportation networks, and aging national infrastructure will be combined with artificial intelligence and digital technology in order to make them smart. We will harmonize the process to fully uphold the important value of not only protecting personal information but also securing a public service role for medical services and education. The Government will expand public investment and strengthen private sector cooperation to create new jobs. In addition to overcoming the crisis, we will put in place a foothold to help our economy transition into that of a pace-setter. We will actively generate new quality jobs through bold and creative planning and fast and decisive implementation. 

Fourth, we will lead an international order of solidarity and cooperation that prioritizes people’s lives and safety. The creative methods and principles of openness, transparency and democracy that we have shown in our efforts to combat the virus have become a world-class success model. Our society has created this together as a whole. Actions like volunteering and donating combined with the spirit of solidarity and cooperation have established the Republic of Korea’s national status and become a source of international leadership. 

A favorable assessment by the international community has significantly expanded Korea’s diplomatic horizon. Our country now stands at the center of international cooperation, and the Republic of Korea’s status on multilateral stages such as G20 and ASEAN Plus Three has risen beyond recognition. 

We will make the most of this opportunity. Building upon successful infectious disease prevention and control efforts, we will lead international cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era while placing “human security” at the center. The concept of security today has expanded from conventional military security to human security that deals with all factors threatening safety such as disasters, diseases and environmental issues. We can cope with these only when all countries pull together through solidarity and cooperation. We will play a leading role so that Northeast Asia, ASEAN and the rest of the world can move forward toward the common goal of human security through solidarity and cooperation. I hope that South and North Korea will move toward a single community of life and a peace community by cooperating on human security.

Fellow Koreans,
Our people have begun to rediscover the Republic of Korea while fighting an arduous war against a virus. We’ve started saying that we are already an advanced country. Countries that we wanted to follow have started learning from us. We have set a standard and become a world-class nation. People have now begun to talk about the Republic of Korea’s greatness. 

It is a greatness that the people themselves have created. We have made concessions, showed consideration, banded together and cooperated. We have become stronger in this time of crisis. The people have been great. I am very proud of all of our people. 

The crisis is not over yet, and an even bigger challenge remains. The Government will have an even more tremendous sense of responsibility. We will become the nation that surmounts this crisis the fastest. We will become an example and a leader for the world. We will stand tall in the world as a new Republic of Korea. Throughout the remainder of my term, I will move forward fearlessly together with our great people.  

Thank you.”