Deputy Prime Minister and Finance and Economy Minister Koo Yun-cheol said the government will announce the fifth round of a cap on petroleum product prices at 7 p.m. on May 7, ahead of its application starting May 8. He also said the ban on hoarding petroleum products will be extended by two months, through July, and that the government will move to strengthen the system, including introducing administrative fines.
Koo made the remarks while chairing the eighth meeting of the interagency task force on special management of consumer prices at the Government Complex in Sejong on May 7. He said the fifth price cap, to take effect from 12 a.m. on May 8, will be set after considering international oil price trends, petroleum consumption, and the fiscal and household burden.
“To block misconduct such as refusing to sell under the pretext of the price cap, we will extend the notice banning hoarding of petroleum products through July,” Koo said. He added, “We will also prepare improvement measures, including creating administrative fines and using reward programs, to increase the effectiveness of price-stabilization steps.”
On recent price conditions, Koo said that despite the fallout from the Middle East war, the April consumer price inflation rate held at about 2.6% due to the price cap and expanded shipments of agricultural products. He said the price cap, along with steps such as fuel tax cuts, helped reduce the rise in prices by about 1.2 percentage points.
Koo also said South Korea’s inflation has been relatively stable compared with other countries. With consumer prices in major economies such as the United States and the United Kingdom running above 3%, he said, South Korea has maintained inflation in the low-to-mid 2% range.
The government said it will intensify efforts to manage consumer prices. It will conduct daily checks on key items closely tied to household spending, including petroleum products, agricultural goods, processed foods and daily necessities, and will work with the food industry to promote discount events for about 4,300 items throughout May.
As follow-up steps to improve the tariff-rate quota system, the government plans to strengthen inspections across the distribution process, considering the price-stabilization effect of imported agricultural and fisheries products. It also plans to pursue legal revisions, including imposing additional taxes and creating orders to remove goods from circulation.
The government will also expand customs clearance support for items affected by the Middle East war. It will strengthen screening for key imports such as petroleum products and naphtha and support diversification of import sources. It said it will simplify procedures to apply preferential tariff rates to Canadian crude oil, seeking to secure up to 33 million barrels a year.
To stabilize supplies of medical products, the government said it will conduct special crackdowns on hoarding of essential medical items such as syringes and strengthen responses by prioritizing supply to essential areas such as hemodialysis.
“Uncertainty is high as the Middle East war drags on, but we will build a breakwater for the people’s economy,” Koo said. “We will make every effort to stabilize prices and supplies of essential items such as energy and food.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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