In preparation for the Chuseok holiday, the ruling Democratic Party and government departments in South Korea have announced extensive plans to reduce the burden on consumers and boost domestic consumption. From October 4 to 7, highway tolls will be waived, and there will be a 30-40% discount on KTX and SRT train tickets to ease travel costs. Additionally, they’ve introduced measures to expand the supply of essential festive goods and curb food price inflation.
The government will significantly increase the supply of key products such as apples, pears, and cabbages, with a total supply amounting to a record 172,000 tons. To stabilize rice prices, 25,000 tons of grain will be released, and government-held rice will be sold at a 20% discount.
In a push to invigorate domestic tourism, a “Traveling in Autumn” campaign will begin on the 16th, offering up to 50% discounts on domestic travel packages and distributing 150,000 lodging coupons in special disaster areas. National museums and cultural sites will be freely accessible during the holidays. Small businesses and SMEs will receive a record 43.2 trillion KRW in holiday funds, and efforts will be made to resolve unpaid wages.
The Democratic Party emphasized that price hikes during the holiday should not be taken for granted and expressed a commitment to thoroughly implementing these measures without problems. They aim to tackle fundamental issues by investigating price increase factors from the production stage and addressing them on the ground.