Seoul subsidizes fuel to ease burden of fuel costs

The South Korean government will expand fuel subsidies for the country’s underprivileged to ease the burden of soaring oil prices, officials said. Seoul has been seeking to overhaul its energy policy in the face of a rise in oil prices. The government is being pushed to come up with measures to buffer their impact on the economy and local consumers — especially those in the low-income bracket. South Korea depends on imports for most of its energy consumption as the world’s fifth-largest oil buyer. The government plans to finalize the measures after discussing them with the incoming parliament whose term begins on May 30. (May 28, 2008)