South Korea announced on Tuesday (March 24th) that it is doubling its planned stimulus package to 100 trillion KRW (80 billion USD) to save companies affected by the spread of the coronavirus.

The package includes 29.1 trillion KRW lends to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while another 20 trillion KRW will be used to buy corporate bonds and corporate securities from companies facing a credit crunch, President Moon Jae-in said during an emergency meeting on the economy.

Seoul’s decision is just another attempt by a government around the world to deal with the problems that are looming over the global economy against the backdrop of stringent national measures taken in an attempt to curb the infection.

On Monday, the US Federal Reserve announced a large-scale second wave of initiatives to support the US economy, including buying unlimited bonds to keep borrowing costs low and creating programs to guarantee credit flows to corporations and government and local authorities.

“We will make sure that companies do not go bankrupt on the turmoil caused by COVID-19. Normal, competing companies will never be closed simply because of a temporary lack of liquidity”, said Moon Jae-in in a meeting with financial sector officials and the South Korean central bank manager.

As part of the bailout package, the Financial Services Commission announced 10.7 trillion KRW mechanisms designed to stabilize the stock markets. It will also launch a bond-buying mechanism in April, which will be funded by 84 institutions, including the central bank, commercial banks, and insurers.

South Korean companies are scrambling to secure their lifeline, as self-isolation across the country has hit catering establishments, airlines, hotels and the entertainment industry in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

The economic impact of COVID-19 wiped out nearly one-third of the value of South Korean benchmark KOSPI this month while widening the spread between corporate bonds and sovereign debt, signaling a possible credit crisis.

More than 210,000 small businesses in the country have applied for “emergency loans” that the government proposed earlier this month.

The coronavirus pandemic has temporarily halted the operations of car factories and dealers in the US and Europe, with a similar trend expected in South Korea, where headquarters such as Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp are located.

South Korea reported 76 new cases of coronavirus infected on Tuesday, tending to reduce the number of new infections.

So far, the total number of patients in the country is 9,037 according to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The deaths due to the coronavirus are 120.