▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on March 5, 2026, to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Lee ordered the government to draw up an evacuation plan for South Koreans in the Middle East as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran widened. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Lee-price collusion

Lee issues fresh warning against possible collusion in raising gas prices

By Yi Wonju

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Friday issued a fresh warning against oil refiners for possible collusion in raising gas prices, amid an escalating war in the Middle East following U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran's retaliation.

In a post on the social media platform X, Lee shared a news article highlighting mixed reactions from the oil industry after he instructed officials to devise a price cap at a Cabinet meeting the previous day.

"Price collusion is a serious crime against the public," he wrote. "Those involved will soon see how heavy the consequences are."

"Some people do not seem to realize that the barbaric era where some companies could make huge profits through illegal acts and get away with it through collusion with government officials or politicians even after inflicting pain on the public is now over," he said.

Lee added the government will mobilize all lawful measures to "normalize the abnormal," saying he will make companies realize the simple truth that "you reap what you sow."

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[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]