Deputy Minister Gi Jae: "Cannot Be Optimistic About Israel-Palestine Situation... Must Prepare Defense Posture"

Kim Byung-hwan, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated on the 12th, "Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, we cannot be optimistic about the future developments of the situation. We will keep all possibilities open and prepare thoroughly for any scenario."

Vice Minister Kim made these remarks during the 32nd Emergency Economic Vice Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that morning.

He explained, "Immediately after the incident, international oil prices experienced increased short-term volatility, but the impact on international financial markets and the real economy remains limited. However, the government will not let its guard down for a moment and will respond with full force to minimize economic impacts and prevent worsening difficulties in the livelihood economy."

He added, "In cooperation with related agencies, we will monitor the financial and foreign exchange markets and the real economy 24 hours a day, re-examine contingency response plans for various scenarios, and respond immediately if necessary. Especially amid the current high uncertainty in prices, we will make efforts to manage prices, including conducting special on-site inspections to prevent price hikes in petroleum products and others that might exploit the increased volatility in international oil prices."

Kim Byung-hwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is making a stern expression while speaking about energy supply and demand, financial markets, and other issues following the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine conflict at the Emergency Economic Vice Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 12th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

At the subsequent 3rd meeting of the Task Force (TF) on Improving Economic Penal Provisions, it was announced that a total of 46 improvement tasks were identified, including penal provisions closely related to daily life raised by small business owners and self-employed citizens, as well as excessive penalties for minor administrative violations, and that sentencing would be rationally adjusted.

Vice Minister Kim said, "We will enhance consistency in sanction levels among similar laws and improve in a direction that curbs excessive criminal penalties through measures such as converting penalties to fines and shifting from administrative sanctions first to criminal penalties later. This improvement plan will be promptly submitted to the National Assembly through a comprehensive amendment process, and the previously submitted bills (64 laws, 140 provisions) will also be revised during the regular session of the National Assembly."

Meanwhile, during the meeting, the current status of responses by various ministries to the European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which came into effect on October 1, was reviewed, and future response directions were discussed. Based on this discussion, a response plan to the EU CBAM will be prepared and announced promptly through the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting.

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