Kang Hoon-sik: "Maximum Price System for Petroleum to Continue... Ongoing Measures for Energy Demand"

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik announced that, given the prolonged uncertainty in the Middle East, the government will continue to implement measures related to energy demand.

Yonhap News Agency

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On April 15, during a briefing at the Blue House, Chief Kang stated, "This past Sunday, we took a sober assessment of the current situation and decided to maintain our emergency response system." He added, "We will promptly implement measures necessary to maintain market order, such as prohibiting hoarding by item category and enforcing emergency supply stabilization measures." Accordingly, he explained that energy-saving measures such as the odd-even system for public institution vehicles, the five-day rotation system for public parking lots, and the voluntary five-day rotation system for the private sector will also continue to be enforced for the time being.

Regarding the maximum price system for petroleum products, which is currently being implemented to alleviate the burden of oil prices on the private sector, Chief Kang said, "We are continuing the policy, but the issue is the price itself," and added, "We are debating whether it is necessary to adjust the price." In response to a question about whether there are discussions on reducing demand for crude oil and naphtha, he replied, "Encouraging energy saving across all sectors is in line with that intention," and emphasized, "We are pursuing energy-saving policies through public participation and efforts, and this must continue."

Chief Kang further stated, "Naphtha is a product that our petrochemical plants refine and export, but there are cases where we prioritize domestic allocation over exports." He added, "We also export crude oil to many countries, but in our current situation, we need to secure our own supply, so we are restricting exports."

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