Koo Yoon-cheol: Diesel Subsidy Extended Through September, Charter Buses Included

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yoon-cheol announced, "We will extend the diesel price-linked subsidies for freight and passenger transport, which were set to expire at the end of this month, until the end of September, and expand the scope of support to include charter buses."

Deputy Prime Minister Koo presided over a task force meeting on the special management of public livelihood prices at the Government Complex Seoul this morning (June 18) to discuss these measures for price stabilization.

The diesel price-linked subsidy is a system that provides a subsidy covering 70 percent of the diesel price exceeding 1,700 KRW per liter.

The subsidy is capped at 280 KRW per liter.

"While geopolitical risks appear to have eased somewhat following the conclusion of the Middle East war ceasefire negotiations, the fact that the 'waves' have lowered does not mean the 'reefs' beneath the surface have disappeared," said Deputy Prime Minister Koo.

He added, "It will take some time for international energy production and transportation infrastructure, as well as logistics supply chains, to fully normalize," assessing that "the aftermath of rising raw material prices remains, and much of the uncertainty has not yet been resolved."

Regarding local public utility charges, which are under pressure to rise due to factors such as increased energy prices, Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated, "We will manage them with a stance of freezing them as much as possible in the second half of the year." He added, "We will actively cooperate with local governments, led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, to delay or stagger the timing of any increases and keep them to a minimum."

He also announced, "We will actively provide financial support, such as special local grants, to outstanding local governments that strive for price stabilization."

Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated that the government would discuss measures to minimize the burden on the public, including low-income and vulnerable groups, alongside comprehensive price stabilization measures such as discount support, supply expansion, and tariff quotas, and announce them as soon as possible.

The meeting also addressed the 7th petroleum price ceiling designation plan, which will take effect on the 19th.

The details of the decision are scheduled to be announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy this afternoon.

"We will review everything by discussing the contents of the Middle East war ceasefire memorandum of understanding, domestic and international oil price trends, and the burden on public livelihood and government finances," said Deputy Prime Minister Koo.

The meeting also covered plans for operating tariff quotas in the second half of the year and strengthening real-time monitoring of public livelihood prices based on artificial intelligence (AI).

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.