Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said he would "respond firmly so that petroleum product prices are set at levels consistent with common sense and convention."
On the 8th, Deputy Prime Minister Koo mentioned "excessive increases in petroleum products" on his X (formerly Twitter) account and said, "We must eradicate profiteering rates that harm the community."
Koo said, "At the national tourism strategy meeting in Feb., we released 'measures to eradicate price gouging' (targeting lodging businesses, among others), which some assess as an unprecedented, high-intensity plan," adding, "It was a step to 'uproot' the one-shot, quick-profit behavior by some that has repeatedly surfaced whenever it is peak season or during major events, under the pretext of 'market autonomy,' even to the point of disrupting social order."
He continued, "The excessive increase in petroleum products recently, intertwined with the Middle East situation, is the same," adding, "Price gouging on petroleum products must also be eradicated." Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "We ask for the industry's active cooperation."