Electricity, public transportation fee hikes hinder efforts to fight inflation
The planned price hikes of utilities and public transportation fees in 2023 pose challenges to Korea's fight against inflation that still remains high while stabilizing at a slow pace, according to analysts. On Friday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced plans to increase electricity rates in the first quarter of 2023 by 13.1 won ($0.01) per kilowatt hour (kWh), compared to a 2.5 won hike per kWh in the final three months of 2022 and 19.3 won per kWh for the whole of 2022.