First Day of Petroleum Maximum Price System... President Lee Urges Public to Report Fuel Price Gouging (Comprehensive)

President Lee’s Social Media Message

"Public Oversight Needed to Prevent Unfair Profits"

Shares Map Displaying Gasoline Prices by Station

On March 13, President Lee Jaemyung put the stabilization of fuel prices at the forefront, stating, "If you discover gas stations or others violating the petroleum price ceiling system, please report them to me immediately." With the government implementing the petroleum price ceiling system from midnight, placing an upper limit on the supply prices set by refiners, the President expressed his determination to block any market-disrupting actions that violate these regulations.

Yonhap News Agency

On this day, President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Starting today, we are fully implementing the petroleum price ceiling system," adding, "To control domestic fuel prices, which have been fluctuating due to unstable international conditions, we have decided to set a clear upper limit on supply prices." He further emphasized, "Public vigilance and participation are needed to ensure that some businesses do not take advantage of the current instability to make excessive profits or obtain unjust gains."

About an hour and a half after posting his first message, President Lee uploaded another post, this time sharing a map of gasoline prices at gas stations in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, and wrote, "Are fuel prices stabilizing significantly? Please report any price gouging." By doing this, he again underscored that the issue of fuel prices is not merely a matter of inflation, but a livelihood issue that he, as President, is directly addressing.

From this day, the government began implementing the petroleum price ceiling system, setting the maximum supply price by refiners at 1,724 won per liter for regular gasoline, 1,713 won for automotive diesel, and 1,320 won for kerosene. This measure, finalized after the fourth meeting of the Special Task Force on Livelihood Prices and an announcement from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, sets an upper limit on the supply price that refiners charge to gas stations and agents, not the pump price. The government also announced a simultaneous ban on hoarding and a strengthening of price monitoring.

On the first day of implementation, gas prices at stations nationwide showed a downward trend. According to Opinet, the Korea National Oil Corporation's oil price information system, as of 9:00 a.m. on this day, the national average price for gasoline was 1,883 won per liter, down about 15 won from the previous day, and diesel was 1,897 won, a drop of 21 won. In Seoul, the average gasoline price fell to 1,906 won, and diesel to 1,905 won. However, since this price ceiling applies to supply prices from refiners, adjustments to retail prices felt by consumers may appear with a time lag, depending on the rate at which existing stock is depleted.

The Presidential Office and the government view this measure as an emergency response to prevent instability in the Middle East from spreading to domestic prices and the livelihoods of the public. The President's public show of pressure, in particular, is interpreted as a message that he will not tolerate fuel price hikes and unfair profits at the distribution stage taking advantage of the high oil price environment.

Meanwhile, President Lee introduced a news report on X stating that the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups have decided to integrate this year’s major AI transformation (AX) projects and hold briefing sessions for businesses. He commented, "This is possible because ours is a government of national sovereignty where (bureaucratic) barriers between ministries have disappeared," and added, "We will do our utmost to promote industrial AI transformation." He also shared an article on X about the Ministry of Health and Welfare's plan to recognize the entire period of military service as qualifying for the National Pension from next year, writing, "We keep our promises, government of national sovereignty."

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