Kim said the volume of crude oil locked in for May had risen by 10 percentage points from the previous week, bolstered by private-sector stockpiles held by domestic refiners.
"We believe we can get through April and May without releasing government reserves, unlike during the Russia-Ukraine war when such a release was necessary," Kim said.
The minister, who returned Friday from a four-nation envoy trip, struck a guarded tone on the fate of seven South Korean-linked oil tankers stranded near the Strait of Hormuz. He said Seoul was working to secure their passage but cautioned that the outcome remained unpredictable.
As an alternative to the choked strait, Kim said the government was preparing to route South Korean vessels through the Red Sea via Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port, with escort support from a destroyer. He added that Riyadh had pledged to give South Korean shipments top priority in allocating Yanbu port capacity.
To diversify away from its heavy reliance on Middle Eastern crude, Seoul is pursuing imports from the United States and Kazakhstan. Kim said negotiations with Astana had made considerable headway and that specifics on volumes and terms could be announced early next week.
Naphtha supply, a critical petrochemical feedstock often called the lifeblood of South Korea's manufacturing sector, is also stabilizing. Kim said procurement is projected to recover to about 80 percent of normal levels in April and May, with daily monitoring in place alongside industry partners to prevent further disruption.
The government has earmarked 869.1 billion won (about $585.4 million) in a recently enacted supplementary budget for supply chain stabilization, including subsidies covering half the cost increase on naphtha imports for domestic petrochemical producers. Kim said the intervention was urgent because soaring feedstock prices had made it more economical for some firms to idle their plants entirely.
On helium — a gas essential to semiconductor fabrication — Kim said supplies from U.S. sources had been secured through the end of June, ensuring that no chip production facility would face a shutdown over the interim.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.