Lee calls for swift price-stabilization measures, tough crackdown on hoarding

President Lee Jae Myung said Monday that "it is clear that without price stability, economic growth, reducing polarization, and the country's sustained development are all impossible," and called for "practical countermeasures to be put in place as quickly as possible."

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting he chaired at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said the prolonged war in the Middle East was adding to the public's cost-of-living burden. "If rising prices reduce the real incomes of vulnerable groups, inequality will widen by that much and economic vitality will inevitably stall," he said. He directed each ministry to move quickly on measures to stabilize everyday grocery prices — including the preemptive release of government stockpiles, stronger discount support and an expansion of tariff-rate quota volumes. He also renewed a warning against market-distorting conduct. "As I have stressed repeatedly, hoarding and price-fixing collusion must be investigated thoroughly and punished severely — to the point where companies think that getting caught even once could mean going out of business," he said.

With the first anniversary of his inauguration two days away, Lee also outlined governing priorities for his second year in office. "In our first year, we navigated through crises thanks to the support of the public and the dedication of public servants," he said. From the second year of his term onward, he said, the administration would focus on spreading the gains seen in key indicators such as exports to small and medium-sized enterprises, small business owners, ordinary citizens and vulnerable groups more broadly.