Government to Crack Down on Price Gouging During Vacation Season

The government is launching a cross-ministerial response to ensure food safety and eradicate price gouging during the summer vacation season.

On July 2, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyungil held a meeting of vice ministers related to price matters and stated, "To allow citizens to enjoy their vacations without concerns about price gouging, we plan to intensively monitor prices, accommodation fees, and the costs of vacation supplies from July 1 to August 31." The government will operate a joint public-private price inspection team to conduct on-site inspections at major vacation spots. If violations of price labeling regulations are detected during inspections, penalties such as fines will be imposed. In addition, if unfair practices such as collusion are identified, they will be reported to the Fair Trade Commission.

Vice Minister Lee said, "In June, consumer prices rose by 2.2% year-on-year due to increases in petroleum products and processed foods," and added, "We will thoroughly implement follow-up measures from the June 16 price stabilization policy and promptly execute related projects as soon as the supplementary budget is passed."

At the meeting, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other relevant ministries decided to secure an additional 13,000 tons of cabbage for summer price stabilization and to release the entire amount before Chuseok. For potatoes, autumn contract cultivation will be promoted, and the reserve quantities for apples and pears will be increased to 12,000 tons and 4,000 tons, respectively.

Efforts will also be made to ease the cost burden for processed food manufacturers. Vice Minister Lee stated, "To alleviate the cost burden on the processed food industry, we will improve the allocation criteria for food ingredient tariff quotas this week so that they are prioritized for companies that actually use them." In addition, a legislative amendment allowing certain food labeling information to be provided electronically, such as via QR codes, will be implemented in the third quarter.

The supply of imported livestock products will also be adjusted. As Brazil declared itself free of avian influenza in June, imports of Brazilian chicken are expected to resume from mid-August upon submission of supporting documents. Thai chicken will be supplied starting at the end of July. Domestic Hanwoo beef will be discounted by up to 50%, and imported chilled beef for grilling will be offered at a 40% discount during July.

The seaweed industry will also expand its production base. In addition to the replacement of dried seaweed dryers, with a budget of 6 billion won included in the supplementary budget, the area for raw seaweed aquaculture will be expanded from 66,000 hectares to 67,000 hectares to increase production.