President Lee Jae-myung on the 5th labeled sudden price adjustments by the refining industry tied to a surge in oil prices from the Middle East war as a "serious crime" and warned of tough sanctions. In particular, the government plans to create penalty provisions targeting fuel businesses seeking windfall profits amid international instability, and to impose a penalty surcharge if they charge more than the government-designated price. Officials are reviewing setting maximum prices differentially by region and fuel type.
That morning, the president shared on X (formerly Twitter) an article saying that five days after the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran, a domestic refiner raised gasoline prices by 140 won and that the government was mulling responses to a "price cap," writing, "Collusive price manipulation is a serious crime against the public. You will soon see how great the price will be."
The president said, "It seems some do not yet realize that the barbaric era is over, when some corporations committed illegal acts to make big money, inflicted pain on the people, and smoothed things over through collusion with government managers and the political establishment," adding, "We will make predatory corporations that commit illegalities and disrupt the order of the national economy realize the simple truth that 'as you sow, so shall you reap.'"
He continued, "We will mobilize all legal means to ensure normalization of abnormalities in the economic sphere as well." Until now, the president has repeatedly signaled punishments for "collusion" in areas closely tied to daily life, from essential items such as sugar, flour, starch syrup, and school uniforms to the practice of funeral home "kickbacks" and unfair stock market transactions.
The previous day, while presiding over a provisional Cabinet meeting, he said, "The attitude of seeking only one's own gain by exploiting national hardship violates the principles of community," and added, "If (fuel) price ceilings are set uniformly, it could cause problems, so swiftly set realistic maximum prices by region and fuel type." He particularly noted that administrative dispositions against "fuel price gouging" are not possible under current statutes and ordered the preparation of legal sanction measures.