“Sharp Rise in Duty-Free Fuel Prices… Fishermen in a Bind
[Yonhap News File Photo]”,
(Incheon=Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Min-jae = The city of Incheon announced on the 6th that it will expand its duty-free fuel support program for fishermen suffering from rising oil prices starting this month.
The city plans to increase the support rate applied according to the size of the fishing vessel by 2-3 percentage points, raising it up to a maximum of 15%, and increase the annual support cap to a maximum of 7 million won.
The newly increased support rates are 15% (up to 4 million won) for vessels under 5 tons, 10% (up to 6 million won) for vessels 5 to under 10 tons, and 8% (up to 7 million won) for vessels over 10 tons.
This measure will be temporarily in effect starting this month until fuel prices stabilize.
The city also plans to issue the payments, which were previously given once a year in November, in two parts this year, in the first half (July) and the second half (December).
Administrative procedures have also been simplified, requiring only the submission of essential documents such as a bank account copy, proofs of duty-free fuel use, and entry and exit verification certificates.
An Incheon city official stated, “With the recent rise in fuel costs leading to an increase in fishermen giving up going out to sea or reducing their operations, we have expanded support by reflecting the opinions from the field.”