As of 12 a.m. on the 27th, with the maximum oil price raised, the government said it would take a hard-line response after gas stations that still hold lower-priced inventory began hiking pump prices first.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said in a press release that it is closely reviewing price trends at more than 10,000 gas stations nationwide and noted it will respond under a zero-tolerance principle to gas stations that immediately raise pump prices right after the implementation of the second maximum price, viewing such actions as undermining the policy's intent and taking excessive profits.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) added that it plans to introduce a one-strike-out system under which discount gas stations run by Korea National Oil Corporation will have their contracts terminated immediately if they sell at excessive prices, even though they should set an example in stabilizing prices.
According to analyses by the Korea National Oil Corporation's Oil Price Information System (Opinet) and the Energy and Petroleum Market Monitoring Group, as of 4 p.m. on the day the second maximum oil price system took effect, about 35% (3,674 locations) of gas stations nationwide raised pump prices from the previous day. Among them, 13% (1,366 locations) sharply increased prices by 60 won or more per liter (L).
Earlier, starting at 12 a.m. the same day, the government set the second maximum prices, applied to refinery shipments, at 1,934 won for gasoline, 1,923 won for diesel, and 1,530 won for kerosene, raising them by 210 won per liter from the first round.
The problem is that a significant portion of the volumes currently being sold by gas stations are lower-priced inventories purchased under the first maximum price. The government judges that raising pump prices before receiving supplies to which the new prices apply amounts to taking unfair profits by exploiting the timing gap during the transition.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said that when oil prices have risen, they have been reflected quickly, while when they have fallen, the reflection has been slow, and this asymmetry has been continuously raised as an issue, and added that during the period the maximum price system is in effect, refinery supply prices are fixed, so if pump prices surge, it considers gas stations responsible.