The Democratic Party of Korea pointed to the "post-settlement system" between refiners and gas stations as the reason fuel prices are set opaquely. The party said it plans to draw up measures to improve the oil industry's price-setting structure, including cost calculation methods and the post-settlement system.
On the morning of the 26th, at a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly, Han Jeong-ae, the Democratic Party policy committee chair, said, "We will improve the current post-settlement system between refiners and gas stations in a direction that maintains cost transparency while reflecting market volatility."
She went on, "We need to examine the problems with the oil industry's cost calculation and post-settlement. Korean refiners buy crude oil and refine it for sale, but they set prices as if purchasing finished goods from Singapore," adding, "In this process, refining margins are passed on to consumers. The basis for domestic consumer prices moves frequently according to demand conditions, not supply costs."
Han also said, "We should use this opportunity to improve the cost escalation structure tied to oil prices and consider changing the post-settlement structure to a prior-notice method," adding, "In the gas station industry, they do not even know the per-liter fuel price, and when refiners tell them to deposit money, they deposit an 'interim price' in cash in advance. This is not a simple post-settlement but a structure that subordinates gas stations to refiners."
She continued, "Korea's post-settlement system is internationally rare, and the common structure in all major countries is to know the price before supply and proceed with the transaction," adding, "Price setting is far too opaque and unfair. The party and government will prepare improvements together."
Earlier, on the 20th, at a meeting hosted by the Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee, the gas station industry raised issues with practices such as the post-settlement system between refiners and gas stations. The Democratic Party of Korea launched a social dialogue body that day to draw up a win-win agreement between refiners and gas stations.
After the first meeting of the social dialogue body, lawmaker Jeong Jin-uk met with reporters and said, "Problems that refiners had carried out as a matter of practice are coming to the fore as war breaks out," adding, "The same goes for gas stations, and the public is also harmed, so we created a social dialogue body, and the refinery CEOs will meet in the afternoon on Apr. 1."
Jeong said, "The gas station industry pointed out things that have been carried out under the refiners' overwhelming power in contractual relations, and the Democratic Party of Korea agreed and noted that refiners must make a bold decision," adding, "Since the relationship between refiners and gas stations is in effect a monopoly and oligopoly issue, we asked the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to play an active role."