Vice Minister Gi Jae: "Price Stability Trend to Settle from August"

Government Holds Deputy Ministerial Meeting on Price Management

Kim Beom-seok, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is presiding over the "27th Vice Ministerial Meeting on Prices" held on the morning of the 26th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Kim Beom-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated, "From August onwards, all ministries will make every effort to stabilize prices to ensure that the price stabilization trend firmly takes hold."

At the '27th Price-Related Vice Ministers' Meeting' held on the 26th at the Government Seoul Office, he said, "Although consumer prices have fallen to the 2% range for three consecutive months and expected inflation has also entered the 2% range (2.9% in July), continuing the overall price slowdown trend, there is a possibility that the rate of price increase may temporarily expand due to supply disruptions of some agricultural products caused by heavy rains this month and volatility in international oil prices."

During the meeting, the supply situation of agricultural products affected by heavy rain damage was closely examined, and price trends and price stabilization measures for each item, including agricultural, livestock, and fishery products as well as petroleum products, were discussed.

Vice Minister Kim said, "To stabilize the supply of vegetables such as lettuce that suffered flood damage, the disaster insurance claim assessment period will be shortened from 7 days to 3 days to enable rapid restoration of damaged facilities and replanting work," and pledged to thoroughly respond to early stabilization of agricultural product prices and prevent additional damage caused by heatwaves following the rainy season.

He added, "For cabbage and radish, whose summer production volume fluctuates greatly, the government has secured a record-high available volume of 28,000 tons and is supplying more than 300 tons daily, "since July and August are periods of high price volatility for agricultural products due to the rainy season, heatwaves, and typhoons, we plan to closely monitor supply and demand trends by holding daily ‘Agricultural and Livestock Products Supply and Demand Situation Check Meetings’ and proactively manage risk factors."

Efforts to stabilize living prices with high public sensitivity, such as seafood, petroleum products, and daily necessities, will also continue. Vice Minister Kim informed, "As of July, 886 tons (82.8% of the planned amount) of stockpiled seafood have been supplied, and the remaining 184 tons will be fully released within this month."

The government plans to continuously monitor petroleum products through the operation of an inter-ministerial petroleum market inspection team to prevent unfair or opportunistic price hikes. Additionally, from the 3rd of next month, manufacturers will be obligated to notify consumers when reducing the volume of daily necessities, and preparations will be made to ensure smooth implementation on-site through prior guidance to businesses.