Ministry of the Interior and Safety Operates 'Local Government Price Managers'... Full-Scale Price Management Effort

A Total of 7 Types Including Water and Sewage Charges

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 13th that it will strengthen cooperation between the central and local governments by designating management officers for local prices and local public utility charges, following the announcement of measures to stabilize local public utility charges for local price stabilization the previous day.

The local public utility charges managed in cooperation with local governments by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety include a total of seven types: water and sewage fees, garbage bag fees, city gas (retail) fees, city bus fares, taxi fares, and subway fares. The decision to raise these fees is made by each local government, and the Ministry manages local public utility charges with the cooperation of each local government to maintain price stability.

In the new measures to stabilize local public utility charges, to strengthen management responsibility, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to operate price management officers (at the director-general level) for each city and province, along with a price officer led by the Vice Minister. Local governments will designate and operate price officers (deputy heads) and management officers (director-general level) for each fee.

Additionally, reflecting analyses of local public utility charges tailored to local circumstances, local governments will establish local public utility charge stabilization plans twice a year (first and second half). Weekly monitoring of step-by-step increases in local public utility charges will be conducted, and from the review stage of increases, the Ministry and local governments will jointly promote discussions for stabilizing local public utility charges, thereby establishing a cooperative system between the central and local governments.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to conduct evaluations focused on local public utility charges through the 'Local Price Stabilization Management Evaluation' based on strengthened cooperation with local governments, and provide financial incentives such as special grants and balanced local accounts according to the evaluation results.

Vice Minister Ko Gi-dong stated, “We will make every effort to manage local public utility charges stably in close cooperation with local governments to reduce the burden on consumers regarding consumer prices and perceived prices.”

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