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| Not a single person is seen at an entrance to the COEX Mall in southern Seoul on March 15, except an official inspector near a thermal measurement camera. / Korea Times file |
By Anna J. Park
COVID-19's damage to the economy is expected to be much greater than that inflicted by previous epidemics like SARS and MERS, according to a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) Monday. The report emphasized that the government's policies should focus on providing necessary support to specific hard-hit industries, rather than providing universal benefits such as basic disaster income to everyone.
The state-run economic think tank said that the COVID-19 pandemic will have a far-reaching and greater impact on the entire economy than the previous cases of SARS and MERS which were confined to regional spreads.
"Considering the vulnerability of the world economy, chances are not slim that the rapid spread of the coronavirus will end up translating into economic recession in major countries," it said.
The KIET expects that although the virus fallout will affect all industries, domestic service industries, such as restaurants, hotels and transportation, will bear the brunt of it, citing the significant damage Singapore and Hong Kong suffered in service industries during SARS and MERS.
According to analysis by the KIET, restaurants and lodging industries in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan during the second half of 2003 saw their businesses suffer double-digit contraction from the previous year.
It explained that sectors of transportation, wholesale and retail sales, manufacturing business, real estate, information and communications also suffered damage from the disease, but not as severely as the service industry.
