[Reporter’s Notebook] Steel Rebar Prices Rose Before the Heatwave... Hong Nam-gi Only Now Taking Action

Morning of the 2nd: On-site Visits to Pyeongtaek and Other Locations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#A heatwave warning will be issued if the perceived temperature exceeds 35℃ for more than two consecutive days between May and September. Officials will visit the field to check on heatwave death statistics and vulnerable groups such as elderly residents in jjokbangchon (small room villages).

#Measures will be taken to prepare for soaring prices due to reduced agricultural production. When raw material prices fluctuate wildly, hoarding will be cracked down on. To prepare for the surge in air conditioner use, reserve power rates will be inspected, and projections of electricity bill increases will be clearly communicated to the public.

These are the measures the government announced after the heatwave this summer claimed the lives of 12 citizens. The above measures were proposed by the President, Prime Minister, and the head of the Korea Meteorological Administration, while the below measures were presented by the heads of economic ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The below (economic ministers’ responsibility) differs from the above (social ministers’ responsibility) in that it requires immediate response regardless of the heatwave. This is to minimize secondary damage such as market instability. Since these are issues that need to be addressed regularly, ironically, field visits and measures announced in the name of heatwave preparedness become 'too little, too late.'

On the morning of the 2nd at 10:30 a.m., Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki visited a subway construction site in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to check the supply status of construction materials such as rebar. Earlier, when rebar prices surged on June 9, he chaired an emergency central economic countermeasure meeting and announced measures including cracking down on hoarding, but these were ineffective, so he hurried to the site under the pretext of a 'heatwave inspection.'

Despite many other economic issues such as soaring prices and electricity bill hikes, he specifically visited the rebar site. There is speculation that since agricultural prices are under Minister Kim Hyun-soo of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and electricity bills fall under Minister Moon Seung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, he chose to visit the rebar site.

After the government threatened to crack down on hoarding, rebar prices, which had fallen to the 1 million KRW per ton range, surged again to the 1.2 million KRW range as of the 1st. Whether the government can control the rising rebar prices remains uncertain. Having made a 'too little, too late visit' by adding the heatwave factor, the government must produce noticeable results.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.