700t of Components Held by Private Companies to Be Used in Production Processes... Military Reserves Also to Be Utilized

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seonhee] The government has agreed to immediately allocate 700 tons of automotive urea solution out of 3,000 tons of urea (2,000 tons for vehicles, 1,000 tons for industrial use) held by private importers for urea solution production starting on the 10th. Additionally, 210 tons of reserve urea solution stockpiled by the military will also be made available for urgent demand.

On the morning of the 9th, Lee Eokwon, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, held the 2nd inter-ministerial joint response meeting on urea solution supply and demand at the Government Seoul Office. The meeting focused on inspecting the domestic distribution and import status of urea solution, including results from joint crackdowns on hoarding, as well as discussing overseas supply acquisition trends, progress, and necessary measures to stabilize urea solution supply.

The government announced that, after deploying 108 inspectors in 31 teams to crack down on hoarding and illegal distribution of urea solution, it confirmed hoarding violations by one urea solution retailer. The case will be promptly reported to the police for prosecution.

Furthermore, during the joint inspection, 3,000 tons of urea held by private importers that had not been immediately used in production were identified. Some of this will be immediately used for urea solution production, and the remaining quantity will be converted into urea solution after consultation and supplied to the market.

Also, the reserve urea solution stock held by the military will be made available for urgent demand through consultations with relevant ministries.

Above all, securing supply from overseas is urgent. Accordingly, a letter was sent to the National Development and Reform Commission of China under the name of Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki the previous day, and a letter was also sent to the Ministry of Commerce of China under the name of Minister Moon Seung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, demonstrating multifaceted diplomatic efforts.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy submitted an application for emergency tariff allocation on industrial urea to the Ministry of Economy and Finance the previous day, and plans to expedite related procedures to implement it as soon as possible. The government also plans to swiftly proceed with related procedures such as holding an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on the 11th to announce the 'Emergency Supply and Demand Adjustment Measures' decree, which can designate production, supply, shipment orders, and sales methods for urea solution producers and sellers, and publishing it in the official gazette the following day, aiming to enact and enforce it within this week.

Vice Minister Lee stated, "We rechecked the urea solution stock status of all firefighting vehicles, including fire pump trucks, fire water tanks, aerial ladder trucks, and ambulances, held by the Fire Agency," and confirmed, "There is sufficient stock, so there will be no disruption." He added, "Among approximately 6,700 firefighting vehicles nationwide, about 4,400 use urea solution. Considering the urea solution stock held by fire stations nationwide, we have secured enough stock to last about 3 to 4 months."

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