Lee to preside over economic ministers' meeting on curbing prices

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak will preside over an emergency meeting of economic ministers Wednesday to discuss ways to bring rising consumer prices under control, his spokesman said.
"All related ministers will attend the meeting to assess the overall situation affecting prices," presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said. "Stabilizing prices is an urgent issue and the government is putting its best efforts into that."
The meeting is expected to focus on ways to curb prices of agricultural products that are showing signs of spiking after a long rainy season, as well as prices for oil, housing and utilities.
On Monday, Lee called for concerted efforts to rein in prices, saying it is one of his top priorities. Lee instructed his aides to set up a prices-monitoring team and to make the issue a fixture on the agenda for weekly meetings of senior secretaries.
South Korea's consumer price index surged 4.4 percent last month from a year earlier, quickening from the previous month's 4.1 percent gain. June marks the sixth straight month that consumer prices have jumped above the government's renewed annual inflation target of 4 percent for this year.
jschang@yna.co.kr