President Lee Jae-myung on the 1st ordered the establishment of a system to adjust surpluses and shortages by local government regarding energy supply and demand stemming from the Middle East war, saying, "Even if there is no problem with the national total, some local governments may face difficulties in supply," and added, "Even if City A is short, it can borrow from City B." Although instability in the naphtha supply is leading to a "hoarding of volume-rate bags," in reality, the total volume of key items is not lacking.
In the afternoon, at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee presided over an emergency economic review meeting and said, "Due to the aftermath of the Middle East war that has continued for a month, the shock stemming from energy supply-and-demand instability is spreading across the global supply chain as a whole," and added, "For the time being, Cheong Wa Dae and the prime minister's office will comprehensively review emergency economic response measures related to the Middle East war and directly oversee follow-up actions."
With the protracted situation in the Middle East, the government is having all ministries check supply-and-demand and price trends for each individual item on a daily basis. Lee ordered that the ministry in charge of each item build a hotline with the relevant industry to grasp overall distribution conditions, and that overseas alternative supply sources be actively identified, centering on diplomatic missions abroad, and then linked to diversification of private-sector supply chains.
In particular, regarding posts spreading online and on social media saying things like "Buy volume-rate bags in advance because prices are going up," Lee said, "So that unnecessary confusion and anxiety do not spread, the government must also make every effort to transparently inform the public about supply-and-demand conditions for key items and response measures," adding, "Because there are people who agitate with fake-news rumors, confusion can occur. Transparent disclosure of information is very useful for a rational response."
Lee also called for public participation in saving energy. Lee said, "Even amid ongoing uncertainty and difficulty, positive changes are spreading across society to share the burden," adding, "There seem to be new cards offering insurance discounts for vehicles participating in the five-day rotation system or expanded discounts for public transportation use, participation by major corporations in freezing prices, and even some corporations that raised prices are bringing them back down. I am deeply grateful for the voluntary efforts of the private sector and corporations."