The photo is of a large supermarket in downtown Seoul.
Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the government plans to stabilize prices by expanding the supply of holiday commodities to the largest scale ever and injecting record-breaking budget funds for discount support.
Today, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Koo Yoon-chul held an economic-related ministers’ meeting at the government complex in Seoul and announced the ‘Chuseok Livelihood Stability Measures.’
In particular, to reduce the cost burden of Chuseok meals, the government plans to supply staple goods like cabbage, apples, and beef to a scale of 172,000 tons, which is 1.6 times more than usual. They also plan to cut the consumer purchase price by up to 50% by implementing a historic high budget of 90 billion won for discounts on agricultural, livestock, and marine products.
For agricultural products, the supply will be significantly increased by item, including cabbage at 3.5 times, garlic at 5.1 times, apples at 3.4 times, pears at 3.5 times, and persimmons at 3.7 times. Additionally, 55,000 tons of government grain will be supplied to stabilize rice supplies.
In large supermarkets and online and offline distribution channels, an additional 20-30% discount will be offered by retailers on top of the 20% government support, with agricultural and livestock products having a maximum discount of 40% and seafood up to 50%.
Moreover, the government will activate a ‘Holiday Goods Supply Stabilization Task Force’ to monitor prices and supply trends daily and plans to conduct intensive crackdowns to prevent unfair practices such as origin labeling violations and price gouging.