South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance used an emergency economic headquarters and ministers' meeting to review the domestic impact of the Middle East war and set the direction for the second half 2026 economic growth strategy. The government said it will seek to limit pressure on prices, jobs, livelihoods and industry from a prolonged conflict while preparing a broader strategy, due by late June, covering stronger economic security, an energy transition, measures to lift potential growth, structural reform, and revised economic forecasts and macroeconomic policy directions. On near-term measures, the ministry said refiners' supply prices remain below the current maximum prices of KRW 1,934 per liter for gasoline, KRW 1,923 for diesel and KRW 1,530 for kerosene, while retail fuel prices have edged down slightly. A second round of high oil price support payments is scheduled to start on 18 May. The government is also applying tariff-rate quotas to imported chicken and pork, expanding pork supplies to wholesale markets from May, and intensifying supply chain monitoring for essential goods including syringes and needles, agricultural fertilizer, asphalt and concrete admixtures. It plans continued oversight to prevent hoarding in high-priced items, to limit urea fertilizer supply and sales to within the previous year's sales volume, and to prioritize asphalt and concrete admixtures for essential construction sites. The second half 2026 growth strategy will now be developed through further inter-ministerial discussions and Cabinet procedures, with publication planned around the end of June.

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