On June 18, the Korea Fisheries Association approved a supplementary budget for the fuel subsidy during its first extraordinary general meeting. As a result, fishermen who received tax-exempt fuel from April to September will be eligible for this support.
While international oil prices have stabilized around $80 per barrel due to prior negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, it typically takes 2 to 3 weeks for these changes to reflect in domestic prices, leaving fishermen with ongoing financial burdens. The association anticipates that a similar number of fishermen, approximately 40,000, will purchase tax-exempt fuel this year as they did last year.
Under the specific support plan, each fisherman will receive 100,000 won in cash, totaling about 4 billion won. Additionally, a subsidy of 2,600 won per drum will be provided based on actual usage of tax-exempt fuel, amounting to a total of 6 billion won.
Tax-exempt fuel for fishing operations has been included in the second-tier oil price cap, resulting in a price drop from 341,800 won per drum to 276,180 won based on April supply prices.
Furthermore, the Korea Fisheries Association will provide additional support of up to 35,240 won per drum for tax-exempt diesel fuel in accordance with the government's supplementary budget.
Noh Dong-jin, chairman of the Korea Fisheries Association, stated, "With the government's support policy for tax-exempt fuel combined with this additional assistance, the burden on fishermen will be alleviated. We will closely monitor international oil price trends and continuously seek additional measures to prevent fishermen from having to abandon their operations due to fuel costs."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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