A thermal imaging camera was installed in the first floor lobby of our company building. More than a few employees opted to work from home or took “family-care leave.” Many of those that did come to work, worked with a mask on. I frequently washed my hands and wiped my cell phone and computer keyboard with an alcohol cotton swab. I often text messages to my mother, who has a weak respiratory system. The message goes, “Don’t go outside even if you feel stuffy.”

My daily routine has changed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the change isn’t so significant that I have to worry about my living expenses. I received my monthly salary on February 25, and I will get it again this month on March 25. It was a sociologist who reminded us of the privilege of a regular salary employee. “There are too many people in South Korea, who will be ‘threatened’ by a two-week vacuum. The difference between ‘a person who lives a month on a monthly income,’ and ‘a person who lives a day on a daily wage’ is not insignificant. They may seem similar, but they are in fact different. They are afraid because they are not salary employees. They are afraid because even though they are salary employees, they are non-regular workers. Everyone worries about how to get through a day, a month, a year, but the frequency and intensity are worlds apart.” (from Oh Chan-ho’s Facebook page)

This is why the proposal for a “basic income for disaster relief” by Lee Jae-woong, CEO of Socar caught my eyes. Lee posted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae national petition website and wrote, “Pay citizens facing hard times due to the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 a ‘national disaster income’ of 500,000 won each.” According to Lee, the current situation is “a job crisis, an income crisis, and a crisis threatening survival” and he argued, “We need to provide 10 million small business owners, freelancers, non-regular workers, students and the unemployed, who are on the brink, income to purchase masks, to pay the rent, and to look after their children.” He also wrote, “If we provide basic income for disaster relief amounting to 500,000 won to each of the 10 million citizens, it will cost 5 trillion won and 10 trillion won if we hand out the money to 20 million people. If the government is preparing a 20 trillion-won supplemental budget, this will be the most effectively spent 10 trillion won.”

A basic income is a policy that provides a certain amount to all citizens regardless of their property, income and labor activities. Since there is no screening process to filter out those who are eligible, the government can reduce the time and money required for administrative procedures. The basic income for disaster relief proposed by Lee seeks to apply this concept in the short term. The petition drew the public’s attention because Lee is a famous personality and because he personally launched the petition, but other figures and political parties have also made similar suggestions since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The newly established Basic Income Party said, “Let’s provide a temporary basic income of 300,000 won and a ten-day leave to the people with a 15 trillion-won supplemental budget.” Another new party, Transition Korea also called for the introduction of an “emergency basic income for disaster relief”--300,000 won a month for two months to 14 million people including 6.5 million non-salary employees, such as independent business owners, freelancers, and housepersons, and 7.5 million non-regular salary employees. Jeong Tae-in, who served as the Cheong Wa Dae secretary for the people’s economy in the Roh Moo-hyun government, suggested paying “all citizens 500,000 won for emergency living expenses to cover fifteen days,” and Yoon Hyeong-joong, head of policy at LAB2050, a private policy think tank suggested, “300,000 won for all citizens.”

On February 24, President Moon Jae-in asked his officials to be creative in drawing up policies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, to make bold decisions and quickly execute them. A few days later, Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki released government measures in response to COVID-19, but the list seemed familiar. There was no sign of any bold and daring imagination. The government’s “funding for the good lessor”--income tax and corporate tax deductions for half the rent discounts that building owners provide tenants--is a policy that provides more tax deductions to building owners who collect more rent. Government measures to encourage consumption, such as individual consumption tax deductions when purchasing cars, income tax deductions for credit card payments, and coupons for vacations, cultural events, and tourism are all distant tales to people who worry about their next meal.

Quarantine experts such as the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases stress the need for people to keep their social distance and recommend people to “remain at home.” Regardless of their advice, there is no one who wants to take risks and go to work. The problem is that the people need to earn a living. Workers who can work from home or take “family-care leave” are a minority. We need to guarantee the minimum living expenses so that people who cannot enjoy such benefits can also “pause” for a while. We need to help them eat, pay the rent and purchase masks and hand sanitizers without going to work for two weeks. This is the most efficient quarantine measure and one that will strengthen trust in the community.

Whether we call this a basic income, citizen’s income, or emergency living expenses; whether we hand the money out to all citizens or 20 million people or 14 million people; whether we give them 500,000 won or 300,000 won, these are all secondary issues. Right now, we are facing an “unusual emergency situation” according to President Moon. An unprecedented crisis calls for an unprecedented decision.