President Lee Jae-myung on Monday urged citizens to conserve fuel, noting that the oil price cap system introduced to ease the burden of rising fuel prices due to the Middle East war is ultimately funded by taxpayers.
"Please try to reduce fuel consumption as much as possible," President Lee said at an emergency economic review meeting and Cabinet meeting held at Cheongwadae. "The price is being held down with taxes paid by citizens."
President Lee noted that ceasefire negotiations held over the weekend appeared to have failed to reach an agreement. "For the time being, difficulties in the global energy and raw materials supply chain, as well as high oil prices, will continue," he said.
During reports from the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, President Lee observed that the oil price cap system may have made Korea the country with the cheapest fuel prices in the world.
"As a result, consumption is increasing in a situation where it should be reduced," he said. "There are counterarguments about whether lowering prices was 100 percent the right thing to do."
Acknowledging these concerns as "valid points," the president explained that the government is compensating for the difference between production costs and actual selling prices. "This is ultimately taxpayers' money," he said.
President Lee emphasized the need to "further solidify the current emergency response system" and called for prioritizing alternative supply chain development, mid- to long-term industrial structure reform, and achieving a post-plastic economy as "top national strategic projects."
Regarding the ongoing tensions, President Lee said the situation around the Strait of Hormuz is difficult to view optimistically as conflicts between the United States and Iran are escalating despite continued negotiations.
"The war supplementary budget has been finalized, and swift deployment to frontline areas affecting people's livelihoods is urgent," he said.
The president also stressed the need to accelerate efforts to address vulnerabilities in Korea's economic and industrial structure that were revealed during the war.
President Lee concluded by urging the warring parties "to take courageous steps toward the peace the world earnestly desires, based on the principle of universal human rights protection and the lessons of history."
