The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on July 15 that it will begin providing diesel fuel subsidies for charter buses starting tomorrow, July 16.

The revised Enforcement Decree of the Passenger Transport Service Act, which includes charter buses as eligible recipients for diesel fuel subsidies, was promulgated on July 7. As a follow-up measure, the Ministry has revised its guidelines for fuel subsidy payments under the Passenger Transport Service Act.

The Ministry will provide both the fuel tax-linked subsidies and fuel price-linked subsidies currently offered to route buses, but the payment rate will be set at 70 percent of that for route buses.

Accordingly, based on a diesel price of 1,900 won per liter, each vehicle will receive approximately 250,000 won in fuel subsidies per month.

The subsidies will apply to 39,000 diesel-powered charter buses, which accounts for 97 percent of all charter buses.

The subsidy period is set for one year.

However, if the resource security crisis alert is raised to the "alert" level or higher, or if the average retail price of diesel exceeds 1,500 won per liter, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport may reset the payment period within a one-year range.

To prevent fraudulent claims, subsidies will only be provided for payments made using a designated fuel subsidy card.

The Ministry plans to monitor abnormal transactions, such as frequent refueling or excessive fuel intake, through the fuel subsidy management system. It will also conduct joint inspections with local governments and the charter bus association for gas stations and transport businesses suspected of fraudulent activities.

If fraudulent receipt of subsidies is detected, the government will implement sanctions, including the full recovery of the paid subsidies and the suspension of fuel subsidy payments for all vehicles operated by the transport business in question.