[Reporter’s Notebook] Emergency Supply Adjustment Measures Not Seen in 44 Years, Already the Second Under Current Government

Government Limits Sales of Urea Solution Following Masks
Regardless of Responsibility, Difficulties Ultimately Fall on the People

(Photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] In response to the 'urea solution shortage,' the government has implemented emergency supply adjustment measures. Based on the "Price Stabilization Act," the purchase quantity of urea solution has been restricted. This is the second time such a measure has been enacted since the law was established in 1976, with the first occurrence being the mask restrictions after the Moon Jae-in administration took office. Regardless of who is responsible for the current situation, the difficulties caused by the shortage ultimately fall on the people.

This urea solution crisis arose when China, on which South Korea depends for 97% of its imports, restricted urea exports. It is an external factor. However, the Chinese government announced this measure on the 11th of last month. This means there was some time to prepare to prevent the urea solution shortage that began in earnest earlier this month.

However, the government only began securing additional supplies after the situation became urgent. Fortunately, the quantities already contracted from China are arriving soon, and urea from 10 countries including Vietnam and Australia, totaling 30,000 tons, as well as 7 million liters of vehicle urea solution, have been secured. Although the immediate crisis was averted, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum bowed his head, admitting, "If we had acted more proactively at the beginning, we might have prevented the situation from worsening," in response to parliamentary criticism that the government's response was too late.

If the government had acted swiftly to secure additional supplies, there would have been no need for over 100 public officials to inspect urea solution factories daily to crack down on hoarding, nor would there have been purchase limits of 30 liters per truck.

This is already the second time under the current administration that the government has acted only after the damage was done, causing suffering to the people in the process. Even during the oil shock after the Price Stabilization Act was enacted, there was no supply adjustment measure demanding the public to endure hardship. After the COVID-19 outbreak, government misjudgments in vaccine supply forced sacrifices on small business owners without emergency measures. Repeated mistakes only reveal the limits of competence. There is fear that another situation where only the people suffer due to government incompetence may arise again.

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