On the 12th, President Lee Jae-myung announced that producers in the cooking oil and instant noodle industries plan to cut prices. “I was informed that manufacturers will reduce prices on some products by up to double digits starting with next month’s shipments,” he said, expressing thanks to the companies that joined the effort to help the country manage this crisis.
He made the remarks at the Blue House that day.
Lee described the move as unusual for a period of economic transition and said it should meaningfully ease households’ cost-of-living pressures and help stabilize everyday livelihoods. “Firms face international competition, so this will not be easy. Korea is among the world’s more expensive countries, and many ordinary people are struggling. As members of our community, I ask businesses to make modest concessions and share the burden,” he said.
He warned that the issue extends beyond a handful of products: “As industries concentrate and scale up, abuses of dominant positions have become common.” He directed relevant ministries to identify such sectors, investigate and monitor products where companies secure unfair profits, and to take active corrective measures.
On BTS’s comeback event near Gwanghwamun in Seoul on the 21st, Lee noted that global attention is focused on Korea ahead of the performance and ordered officials to develop and implement comprehensive crowd-management plans in advance, given the expected large turnout.
He instructed officials to conduct a detailed review of traffic and emergency medical systems and to ensure safety measures and basic amenities, such as restrooms, are in place.
Lee also ordered rigorous enforcement and penalties against price gouging, warning that such practices are not isolated incidents: they damage Korea’s image and could inflict serious harm on the tourism industry, which the country aims to develop as a key growth sector.
He called for measures to address health concerns among overworked Blue House staff.
“I understand Blue House work is extremely demanding and staff have been pushed hard for a long time. While we cannot simply abandon tasks or shift responsibilities, I ask the chief of staff to formulate concrete countermeasures,” he said.
Separately, Lee ordered a thorough investigation into why some victims’ remains from the Dec. 29 Jeju Air passenger plane disaster were not recovered earlier and why those remains went uncollected for one year and two months, Lee Gyu-yeon, the Blue House chief of public relations and communications, said in a briefing.
He also instructed that those responsible for the lapse be strictly held accountable.
At the same time, the president urged investigators to carry out a swift and comprehensive probe and expressed deep regret to the grieving families over the delayed discovery of the remains, the spokesman said.
Reporter Jeong Jae-ho cjh86@viva100.com
