Up to 57% off 3,838 items, including ramen and ice cream, to ease holiday shopping costs

[Financial News] The government will offer discounts of up to 57% on 3,838 processed food items, including ramen, ready-to-eat meals and ice cream, to ease the burden of holiday shopping prices.
At a State Council meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 11th, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol said, "We will work to stabilize prices for processed foods," and announced the plan.
The government plans to step up cross-ministerial efforts to stabilize prices, including minimizing upward pressure from heat waves. Koo said, "Vegetable and fruit prices are generally at a favorable level compared with last year, but there are upward factors such as heat waves and droughts, so we will operate special management agencies to ensure stable supply and demand."
In the oil supply chain, the government will encourage the introduction of substitute volumes and restart strategic oil stock swaps in August. It also plans to extend the notice on emergency supply and demand measures for naphtha and petrochemical products, which is set to expire on the 26th. Koo said, "We will respond with all-out efforts by expanding international joint stockpiling, bringing in reserve volumes early, and extending the supply and demand stabilization measures we have implemented so far."
In employment, the government will actively identify tasks for improvement by sector, especially in sluggish industries such as manufacturing and construction. Koo said, "The Everyone's Startup Project has selected 5,000 people in the first round and is now under way. From August to November, we will proceed in stages and select 200 final winners by the end of this year to provide support."
In finance, the government is pushing ahead with security measures for single-stock leveraged products. As a result of follow-up measures, trading volume for such products fell from 1.24 trillion won on July 30 to 8 billion won on Aug. 7. Koo explained, "Overall, we will make every possible policy effort to reduce volatility in the capital market."
[email protected] Seo Young-joon Reporter