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186216
Fri, 06/03/2011 - 07:05
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https://oananews.org//node/186216
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S. Korea to continue price stabilization efforts
SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will continue efforts to stabilize prices as inflation pressure is mounting, possibly hurting the livelihood of ordinary citizens, a senior finance ministry official said Friday.
"Core inflation accelerated from 3.2 percent in April to 3.5 percent last month, showing that demand-side inflationary pressure has been growing," Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong said at a weekly anti-inflation meeting.
"Prices of goods directly linked to the daily lives of ordinary people still remain unstable," he said, adding that the government will continue its efforts to ease price hikes of rice, pork, mackerel, home renting and other services.
Yim also said the government will announce its public service management plan this month that will include guidelines for how much public service fees will be raised in the second half.
"We will review all possible aspects of the impact that price hikes of public services could have on inflation and the livelihood of ordinary people," he said.
His comments came as South Korea is grappling with growing inflationary pressure amid concerns that price instability could undercut the momentum of the nation's economic recovery.
South Korea's consumer prices jumped 4.1 percent in May from a year earlier, staying over the 4 percent mark for the fifth straight month. Core inflation that exclude volatile food and energy prices spiked 3.5 percent, the highest gain in 23 months.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said in his inauguration speech that price stability and job creation are among his priorities as the nation's top economic policymaker.
Yim also said the government will be closely monitoring housing rental prices and seek to take "preemptive" measures to stabilize the market as home borrowing costs have been rising in recent months. He worried that those hikes could exert additional upward pressure on inflation.
According to the latest industry data, apartment rental prices under the "jeonse" system rose 13.6 percent in April from a year earlier, up from the 12.5 percent on-year gain in March. This marked the fastest growth since a 14.5 percent gain registered in October 2002.
Jeonse is a unique home rental system here for mostly low- and mid-income people, under which a tenant leases a home for two years by paying a lump-sum deposit instead of paying monthly rent.
"Core inflation accelerated from 3.2 percent in April to 3.5 percent last month, showing that demand-side inflationary pressure has been growing," Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong said at a weekly anti-inflation meeting.
"Prices of goods directly linked to the daily lives of ordinary people still remain unstable," he said, adding that the government will continue its efforts to ease price hikes of rice, pork, mackerel, home renting and other services.
Yim also said the government will announce its public service management plan this month that will include guidelines for how much public service fees will be raised in the second half.
"We will review all possible aspects of the impact that price hikes of public services could have on inflation and the livelihood of ordinary people," he said.
His comments came as South Korea is grappling with growing inflationary pressure amid concerns that price instability could undercut the momentum of the nation's economic recovery.
South Korea's consumer prices jumped 4.1 percent in May from a year earlier, staying over the 4 percent mark for the fifth straight month. Core inflation that exclude volatile food and energy prices spiked 3.5 percent, the highest gain in 23 months.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said in his inauguration speech that price stability and job creation are among his priorities as the nation's top economic policymaker.
Yim also said the government will be closely monitoring housing rental prices and seek to take "preemptive" measures to stabilize the market as home borrowing costs have been rising in recent months. He worried that those hikes could exert additional upward pressure on inflation.
According to the latest industry data, apartment rental prices under the "jeonse" system rose 13.6 percent in April from a year earlier, up from the 12.5 percent on-year gain in March. This marked the fastest growth since a 14.5 percent gain registered in October 2002.
Jeonse is a unique home rental system here for mostly low- and mid-income people, under which a tenant leases a home for two years by paying a lump-sum deposit instead of paying monthly rent.
