The Ulsan Metropolitan Government announced Monday it will launch a comprehensive price stabilization plan, designating 40 specially managed items to preemptively respond to inflation concerns stemming from the prolonged Middle East crisis.
The measures are a follow-up to an emergency meeting on the public economy held on the 2nd. Rising oil price volatility and growing concerns over supply-demand imbalances in agricultural, livestock and fishery products drove the decision.
The city is pursuing five core tasks for price stability: ▲intensive management of specially managed items ▲operation of a comprehensive price monitoring situation room ▲on-site inspections ▲promotion of "fair price" businesses ▲public utility fee stabilization.
First, the city designated 40 specially managed items — including vegetables, fruits, seafood and livestock products — for regular price monitoring. Survey results will be transparently disclosed on the city's website, and compliance with country-of-origin labeling and price display requirements will be thoroughly examined.
The city is also strengthening its field-centered response system. A comprehensive price monitoring situation room, jointly operated by the city and its districts, will continuously track trends. When complaints about price gouging are filed, officials will immediately launch on-site investigations and take step-by-step enforcement actions from detection through corrective measures to follow-up management.
To this end, the city will conduct joint intensive on-site inspections at traditional markets and large supermarkets from the 7th through the 17th. Unfair practices such as failure to display prices or country of origin will be corrected on the spot.
The city will also expand support for "fair price" businesses, which help stabilize personal service fees. Card discount benefits will be linked to encourage public patronage, and various participatory events including public nomination drives and visit verification challenges will be organized to boost participation.
In addition, the city plans to maintain a freeze on major public utility fees — including city bus and taxi fares — through the first half of the year to minimize upward pressure on prices.
"As price uncertainty persists due to changes in external conditions, we are closely monitoring related trends," an Ulsan city official said. "We will make every effort to ease the price burden on citizens through thorough field-centered inspections and management."