By Jihye Lee
South Korea's president called for a limit to domestic fuel prices as the Middle East conflict enters a second week and energy markets continued to climb.
At an emergency economic meeting on Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the government should "swiftly introduce and decisively implement a price ceiling for petroleum products that have seen excessive price increases."
According to a pool report, Lee said the deepening crisis in the Middle East is becoming a considerable burden for the South Korean economy, which relies heavily on global trade and energy imports from the region.
"Given the seriousness of energy supply issues and household anxiety, extraordinary countermeasures are also necessary," Lee told his cabinet.
Seoul is ready to introduce market-stabilization policies, he said, adding that policymakers should prepare additional measures at both the government and central bank levels.
He also called for a crackdown on illegal market practices, including collusion among oil refiners and gas stations, hoarding and panic buying.
Like many of its neighbors in the region, Korea's financial markets have been roiled by the Iran crisis, leading to sharp losses in equities and weakness in the won. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index was last down over 6%.
Write to Jihye Lee at jihye.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-09-26 0213ET
