As 'Middle East Shock' Drives Up Fuel Prices... Party and Government Prepare Maximum Price System by Fuel Type and Region

Joint Government Task Force Conducts Monitoring
Business Community’s Demands Conveyed to the Government

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul is speaking at the government-party practical meeting on economic response directions related to the Middle East situation held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 6th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

The Democratic Party of Korea and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance held a party-government consultation on March 6, after domestic gas station fuel prices surged due to instability in the Middle East, to discuss measures such as a maximum fuel price system.

Jung Taeho, Democratic Party secretary of the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, told reporters after the working-level party-government consultation held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building that morning, "The government is preparing to introduce a maximum price system by type of fuel and by region, if necessary." He added, "Yesterday, we inspected the refining industry, and today we are inspecting gas stations. The speed of our response will be determined based on the results of these inspections."

Koo Yuncheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated, "Starting today, a government joint task force will conduct a full inspection of gas stations and monitor for issues such as hoarding. If any legal violations occur, we will respond with a zero-tolerance policy. We are determined not to tolerate any acts of profiteering that exploit this national situation."

He continued, "(The Ministry of Strategy and Finance) has organized three teams—real economy, financial, and energy—to conduct 24-hour monitoring and has established a system for immediate coordinated response in case of any abnormal signs. We also have contact information for seafarers and workers in the Middle East region and have put measures in place to allow them to disembark if necessary."

During the party-government consultation, members of the Strategy and Finance Committee also conveyed the demands of the business community to the government. Assemblyman Jung said, "The refining industry conveyed that they can only establish their own supply plans for stockpiled oil if there is a government plan for releasing national reserves, so they requested the government to announce such a plan." He added, "Currently, 70% of our crude oil imports come from Dubai. If we are to diversify sources, there will be a difference in transportation costs, so the business community requested the government to establish support measures to address this gap."

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