South Korea to impose fuel price cap to shield economy from energy shock

2026-03-09 - 05:13

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said the country will look for sources of energy beyond supplies shipped via the Strait of Hormuz. (EPA Images pic) SEOUL: South Korean president Lee Jae Myung said today that authorities would cap domestic fuel prices for the first time in nearly 30 years to contain a spike in prices after the conflict in the Middle East sent global crude prices sharply higher. Speaking at an emergency meeting on the impact of the Middle East crisis, Lee said the government would “swiftly introduce and boldly implement” a maximum price system on petroleum products “that have recently seen excessive price increases”. The current crisis “is a significant burden on our economy, which is highly dependent on global trade and energy imports from the Middle East,” Lee said in opening remarks. He added that South Korea will also look for sources of energy beyond supplies shipped via the Strait of Hormuz. Lee said a ₩100 trillion (US$66.94 billion) market stabilisation programme should be expanded if needed, and called on the government and the central bank to prepare additional measures to respond to the volatility of the financial and foreign exchange markets. South Korean shares slumped 8% on Monday to activate circuit breakers for a second time this month on the escalating Middle East conflict, while the won dropped more than 1% to trade near a key psychological barrier of ₩1,500 per US dollar. After Lee’s comments, the won cut losses to trade at ₩1,493.5 per dollar, versus a session low of ₩1,499.2.