Koo Yun-cheol: "We will reclaim unjust gains from excessive tuition fees and introduce new fines"

[Financial News] Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol said on the 9th, in relation to illicit tuition hikes at private academies, "We will introduce a new surcharge system to reclaim unjust gains such as excessive tuition fees, and we will increase rewards for reporting illegal practices."
Presiding over the sixth meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on Special Management of Essential Consumer Prices at Government Complex Seoul that day, Koo stated, "Since January, we have carried out special inspections on de facto tuition hikes and other practices, and so far we have taken strict measures in more than 3,000 cases, including referring them for investigation and imposing fines."
To strengthen oversight of private academy tuition as part of its price-stabilization efforts, the government plans to amend the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Private Teaching Institutes and Extracurricular Lessons and toughen related sanctions.
The meeting also discussed plans for the third designation of maximum oil prices, monitoring and responses to price trends by item related to the Middle East wars, trends and policy responses for laptop prices, and directions for restructuring the pricing plans of the three major mobile carriers in South Korea to better guarantee basic communication rights.
Koo said, "The government will remain vigilant and devote all efforts to maintaining macroeconomic stability at home and abroad," adding, "We will do our utmost to ease the burden on people’s livelihoods by improving distribution structures for essential consumer goods, resolving difficulties faced by businesses, and establishing a fair market order."
First, the government will designate the third round of maximum oil prices today. The new ceiling, which will take effect from midnight on the 10th, will be announced at 7 p.m. today.
Koo noted, "We will make the decision by comprehensively considering the upward trend in international oil prices and the burden on the public."
He went on to say, "Thanks to the active cooperation of refiners and gas stations, the maximum price system has faithfully served as a safety net by easing fuel costs and preventing a sharp rise in logistics expenses." He added, "The government will also fully support the establishment of fair trading practices in the market and the spread of mutually beneficial cooperation."
Price monitoring of critical items affected by the Middle East wars will also be expanded.
The government will operate hotlines from ministerial level down to working-level officials to continuously monitor supply and price trends for items showing signs of risk and to swiftly devise response measures.
In addition, it will continue key stabilization measures for prices and supplies of core items, including prioritizing the supply of raw materials for essential medical products, adjusting the timing of public construction orders to manage demand for construction materials, and supporting discounts of up to 50% on major agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products.
The government will also examine distribution practices for laptops and PCs, whose prices have recently risen sharply. The recent intensification of global "chipflation" has driven up prices for PCs and laptops as well.
Koo said, "We will revise the relevant notice so that PCs of government agencies that have exceeded their service life are first provided free of charge, thereby easing the purchase burden on vulnerable groups," adding, "We will also expand programs to support PC and laptop purchases for students from low-income households by using local education grants secured through the supplementary budget."
The pricing plans of the three major mobile carriers in South Korea will also be improved to better guarantee basic communication rights.
The government will expand "data safety" options that allow users to continue accessing data at a basic speed even after they have used up their monthly data allowance. For seniors, voice calls and text messages will be offered without limits.
In addition, age-specific plan benefits will be provided automatically without requiring a separate application.
According to estimates by the mobile carriers, the revised plans are expected to reduce annual communication costs by more than 380 billion won in total, including over 320 billion won through expanded data safety options and about 59 billion won in savings for senior users.

skjung@fnnews.com Jung Sang-geun Reporter