On the 22nd, an employee sets up a certification signboard at Oh Happy Gas Station in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, which is selected as a Kindest Gas Station. The Kindest Gas Station is a station chosen at least five times as a Kind Gas Station, which the civic group Energy and Petroleum Market Monitor selects every two weeks after the maximum oil price system takes effect on March 13. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

The government said on the 26th it is reviewing extending a fuel tax cut. It also plans to inject a 1 trillion won budget to hold discount events for agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products to rein in prices. The government will respond to keep consumer inflation in the second half within 3%.

The government announced the "plan to stabilize everyday prices and ease the burden on low-income people" and said it will consider extending the fuel tax cut while watching trends in prices of petroleum products even if the petroleum price cap ends. Earlier, to stabilize oil prices, the government implemented the petroleum price cap and cut the fuel tax. Through July, gasoline will be reduced by 15% and diesel by 25%.

The government also said it will use a 1 trillion won budget to stabilize everyday prices. Of that, it will spend 350 billion won to push discount events for all items of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products. Eggs will be discounted 20% for all items, rice will see the discount rate expanded to 20% (6,000 won per 20kg), and seafood items whose prices rose 10% from the previous month will be discounted by up to 60%.

It will also prepare incentives to lower supply prices for agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products. To increase supply volumes and lower delivery prices, the government will expand imports of shell eggs by more than sixfold and double shipment incentives for pork wholesalers to induce a drop in wholesale prices. For seafood such as mackerel, hairtail, and squid, it will either increase overseas import volumes or have the government purchase directly and sell at a discount.

The government said it will manage consumer prices so they can be kept within 3% in the second half. Consumer prices, which had stayed in the 2% range in January (2.0%), February (2.0%), March (2.2%), and April (2.6%), recorded 3.1% in May as the impact of the Middle East war began to be fully reflected. With the effects of the Middle East war continuing, the prevailing view is that consumer prices in June and July will exceed 3%.

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.