Lee Presides Over Senior Secretaries' Meeting on the 12th
Urges Stabilization of Consumer Prices Ahead of the Holiday
Lee: "Strict Action Against Abuse of Tariff Rate Quotas"
On the 12th, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, President Lee Jaemyung called for thorough management of prices. He ordered strict action against companies that gain unfair profits from tariff-rate quotas and instructed officials to look into the problem of expensive school uniforms.
President Lee Jaemyung is speaking at a meeting of senior presidential secretaries held at the Blue House on the 12th. Yonhap News
In a meeting of senior presidential secretaries that he chaired at the Blue House that afternoon, President Lee said, "When I went to the market, our people were still very worried about prices and about sales," making these remarks.
Regarding tariff-rate quota measures, President Lee pointed out, "We told companies to import cheaply and supply cheaply, but they imported cheaply and then sold at normal prices," adding, "This does nothing at all to help bring prices down."
He continued, "It seems there were even cases where unfair profits were taken using taxpayers' money," and stressed, "Completely block any room for abuse, and if such cases actually occur, hold those responsible strictly to account so that this never happens again."
President Lee also said, "I hear that the cost of buying a school uniform is approaching 600,000 won," and added, "When I was serving as mayor, it was 300,000 won, but at some point it became 600,000 won. With the new semester approaching, I would like you to look into whether school uniform prices are appropriate."
President Lee Jaemyung is saluting the national flag during a senior secretaries' meeting held at the Blue House on the 12th. Yonhap News
He went on, "In many cases the fabric for school uniforms is imported, and there is a question of whether it is reasonable to charge such high prices," and said, "I would like you to review what measures we can put in place."
As an alternative, he also proposed a "school uniform producers' cooperative." President Lee explained, "In any case, most school uniforms are being provided free of charge," and added, "Instead of giving money to private companies, if we have a cooperative handle the production itself in-house, it could create jobs domestically, and if we use domestically produced materials, it could also help industrial development."
Regarding the special task force on essential consumer prices, which began operating the previous day, President Lee said, "We must not only implement short-term measures such as discount support and releasing stockpiled supplies, but also thoroughly monitor unfair trade practices such as collusion and monopolies involving specific items," and added, "I ask you to do your utmost, up to and including taking preemptive steps to identify and correct structural problems at each stage of distribution."
Meanwhile, President Lee chaired the meeting under the theme of "So-hwak-haeng (small but certain happiness) policies" that day. He emphasized, "Above all, what is important is to improve people's lives on the ground, even in small ways, quickly and extensively," and added, "Do not become fixated only on large, difficult agendas that take a long time, but instead swiftly identify and implement tasks that, though small, can quickly change people's lives."
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