Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Monday that South Korea will extend the tax cut on fuel consumption through December amid concerns about growing inflationary pressure caused by the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The government has applied a 25 percent discount on the consumption of gasoline and a 37 percent discount on the consumption of diesel, which was set to expire at the end of October.
“Oil prices are feared to jump, which will cause greater volatility in the real economy and financial and foreign currency markets, depending on the developments of the incident,” Choo said during an emergency economic ministers’ meeting.
“We will make all-out efforts to stabilize prices and the public’s livelihoods by thoroughly managing energy and food prices,” he said. “The government will temporarily extend oil subsidies through the end of this year and beef up on-site inspections.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency