South Korea extends fuel tax cuts through November amid price pressures

The Ministry of Finance and Economy announced the decision at an economy-related ministers’ meeting chaired by Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, citing the need to reduce the impact of fuel costs on households and businesses.

Under the extended measure, the existing tax reductions of 15 percent for gasoline and 25 percent for diesel and butane will remain in effect through the end of November. The cuts had originally been scheduled to expire at the end of September.

We have decided to maintain the current tax cut scheme, considering the country's capacity to address a possible increase in oil price volatility, the finance ministry said in a release.

The government said it would maintain the larger tax reductions for diesel because of its importance to industrial and logistics activities. Butane will also continue to receive the higher reduction, as it is widely used as fuel for small trucks, the ministry added.

Earlier, it was reported South Korea launched the autumn travel campaign to boost tourism.