South Korea: Prime minister nominee to meet with food industry leaders over soaring prices

Seoul, June 12 South Korea's Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok will meet with representatives of food and restaurant industry associations and experts this week to discuss rising consumer prices and possible countermeasures, industry sources said on Thursday.

Kim is expected to hold the meeting on Friday with officials from the Korea Food Industry Association (KFIA), the Korea Foodservice Industry Association (KOFSIA), and the Korea Franchise Association (KFA), as well as consumer rights groups and experts, reports Yonhap news agency.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is also scheduled to attend, according to the sources.

The planned meeting follows President Lee Jae-myung's remarks at an emergency economic task force meeting on Monday, where he questioned whether a packet of ramyeon, or instant noodles, really costs 2,000 won (US$1.50), and called for urgent price-control measures.

"It wasn't a coincidence that President Lee visited a market and raised concerns about inflation and ramyeon prices following his visit to the Seoul National Cemetery. Food prices that people encounter every day are a very serious issue," Kim said at a press conference the following day.

Kim said he had requested the Prime Minister's Office to arrange the meeting and vowed to do everything he could in his capacity as nominee.

In a recent survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), six out of 10 respondents identified price stabilization as the most pressing livelihood issue for the new government.

Prices of processed foods and restaurant meals, in particular, have continued to climb.

Although the year-on-year consumer price inflation rate fell to the 1 per cent range in May for the first time in five months, processed food prices remained elevated in the 4 per cent range for the second consecutive month.

Over the past six months, more than 60 food and restaurant companies have raised their prices, prompting criticism that they may have taken advantage of the political turmoil and leadership vacuum following now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law in December.

Industry officials argue food companies had held off on price hikes last year due to government pressure and only began adjusting prices earlier this year.

"Profit margins for food companies are lower than those in other sectors. They had no choice but to raise prices due to higher import costs of raw materials," an official said.

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