Lee vows full force to curb high prices

Feb 06, 2026, 07:33 am

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President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a senior secretaries’ meeting at Yeomin Hall of the presidential office on Wednesday. / Yonhap

Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday called for an all-out use of state authority to rein in persistently high prices, citing alleged price-fixing by flour and sugar companies, and ordered a review of measures including price adjustment orders and a dedicated task force on inflation.

Speaking at a senior secretaries’ meeting he chaired at the presidential office, Lee said inflation remains a serious concern. “Abusing oligopolistic conditions to force high prices on the public must be corrected without fail by mobilizing the full force of the state,” he said.

Lee noted that while the consumer price inflation rate fell to 2 percent last month—the lowest in five months—prices of staple foods, including rice, remain unstable. “Economic indicators are improving, but if grocery prices that directly affect daily life remain volatile, people will not feel their lives are getting better,” he said.

Pointing to the high cost of bread in South Korea compared with other countries and rising domestic flour prices despite a plunge in global wheat prices, Lee said collusion was “highly likely.” He directed prosecutors, police, the Fair Trade Commission, and relevant administrative agencies to take aggressive action to correct price-fixing practices.

Lee also cited recent declines in sanitary pad prices, saying such outcomes show that “this can be done—it simply hasn’t been done so far.” He added that similar structural issues exist across sectors, including agricultural distribution. “Cattle prices have collapsed, yet meat prices have not come down. Fruit and agricultural distribution structures are also strange. These are all problems of the state system,” he said.

Emphasizing policy credibility, Lee said the public must not be left with the impression that the government “does things halfway and moves on.” “People should believe that we don’t make empty promises, and that once a policy is decided, it will be enforced,” he said.

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