South Korea to pay families hundreds of dollars to ease coronavirus impact

FILE PHOTO - People wearing masks to protect against contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walk along a street in Seoul, South Korea March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will make emergency cash payments to all but the richest families and draw up a second supplementary budget next month in a bid to ease the drawn-out economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, President Moon Jae-in said on Monday.

Moon, after an emergency meeting with economic policymakers, said an "emergency disaster relief payment" of up to 1 million won ($820) would be made to all households except the top 30% by income, totalling some 9.1 trillion won (5.99 billion pounds).