YOON ON STABILIZING CONSUMER PRICES

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President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has ordered his transition team to prioritize taming inflation and stabilizing consumer prices. He also vowed to achieve balanced regional development and create equal opportunities for local residents in provincial regions.

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Consumer prices surged above four percent for the first time in a decade. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol was briefed about the causes and backdrop of the mounting inflationary pressure. Consumer prices are soaring worldwide due to the money oversupplied amid the pandemic. On top of this, global product supply crunch has worsened due to the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The president-elect ordered his transition team to prioritize taming the rising inflation rate. In particular, he called on the government to lower taxes on oil by 30 percent and stabilize the prices of other items that affect the livelihoods of the people.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(President-elect) : "Special measures are needed to address the inflation rate that rose 4.1 percent for the first time in ten years."

Yoon also held a meeting with the heads of 17 provincial governments. After greeting each of the guests, the president-elect promised to open up an era of provincial regions during his term. He noted balanced regional development with his policy keyword “fairness“.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(President-elect) : "Balanced development means guarantee equal opportunities to all regions and allow people to enjoy equal opportunities regardless of where they live."

The transition committee began working-level discussions on implementing Yoon’s campaign pledge to supply 2.5 million houses across the nation, including 1.3 million in the capital area. The transition team also discussed with the Land Ministry and the Seoul city government how to materialize the president-elect’s policies to provide quality, affordable houses for first-time home buyers and young people. They also discussed a new supplementary budget proposal to compensate those hit hard by the pandemic. The government sent a report on eligible recipients and the estimate of the relief payouts. But the transition team did not reveal the total amount, saying that more discussions are needed on blind spots and payment methods.