S. Korea to lower tariffs on major agricultural imports amid inflation
South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it has decided to apply tariff-rate quotas on eight major
The Republic of Korea (RoK)'s economic policies should focus on stabilizing consumer inflation and managing household debt as higher interest rates have repayments more onerous, President Moon Jae-said on Tuesday, with just a few months left in office.
Presiding a cabinet meeting, Moon said consumer price pressures are building which could hurt household finances at a time when interest payments for households are also higher following the Bank of Korea's back-to-back policy rate hikes.
"Our utmost priority should be on stabilizing prices for staple goods for our citizens, and I ask for timely deployment of various policies to stabilize prices," Moon said.
The RoK's consumer inflation hovered near a decade high in January and remained above the central bank's 2% target for a 10th straight month, as surging food and energy prices pushed prices higher.
A presidential election is set for March 9, and Moon will leave office on May 9, having served the single term permitted under the Republic of Korea's constitution.