The measures, unveiled at a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol on Friday, form part of a wider 1 trillion won package aimed at keeping second-half inflation below 3 percent.
They follow a directive from President Lee Jae Myung for swift, decisive action against mounting price pressures.
"We will mobilize every available means and do our utmost to keep second-half consumer inflation within 3 percent," Koo said, pledging fiscal firepower for discounts, essential living-cost relief and support for small businesses hit by high fuel prices.
For the first time, the discount drive will span all eligible products rather than the 22 items previously targeted, including rice, onions, eggs, pork and mackerel.
Per-person support will rise to a maximum of 30,000 won from 10,000 won, while the rice discount climbs to 6,000 won per 20 kilograms from 5,000 won.
To rein in egg prices, the government will expand fresh-egg imports more than sixfold, bringing in an additional 200 million units and supplying bakeries and other small merchants alongside retailers.
A special delegation will be dispatched next month to secure extra mackerel, with the UK and the Faroe Islands eyed as new suppliers beyond Norway.
Traditional-market discount vouchers, once issued mainly around holidays, will now be released monthly at up to double their previous scale.
Relief will also extend beyond the dinner table to fuel, transport and energy bills, with an extra 147,000 won earmarked for 220,000 vulnerable households that rely on kerosene and LPG.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.




