-Explosive increase in maintenance costs 
Heating and electricity costs have skyrocketed, with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy having found that real heating costs have jumped by 50% in only one year and electricity prices rose especially sharply in February. As of January, electricity bills rose by 9.5 percent, adding to the burden. Electricity prices are also set to record the highest increase in the 42 years since the second oil shock in 1981, which will have a big impact on soaring maintenance costs.

-Vulnerable groups affected by increased maintenance costs
The surge in heating costs is a big challenge for self-employed people who have to run heating all day without knowing how much further costs will rise. In
consideration of this situation, the government urgently organized a reserve fund. As of Jan. 30, the reserve fund expenditure plan of 100 billion won was urgently reissued. In addition to the existing budget of 80 billion won, the government’s policy was to use 180 billion won to support heating costs. There are many households that do not benefit from heating bill support. Last year, more than 400,000 households did not receive heating bill support because they were unaware of the gas discounts.

-Regional policy to reduce number of vulnerable people
Gyeongsangbuk-do operates an intensive program to discover energy-vulnerable people. For every household to benefit from discounts on energy vouchers, community service centers have sent the application form, and each household is encouraged to apply by phone or in person.

-Rural elderly people in welfare blind spots 
Among the residents of rural areas, the problem of heating costs is especially serious for the elderly living alone or the super-aged. A solution is urgently needed because elderly
people often die in winter or get seriously ill due to their inability to pay the cost of heating their homes. Most homes in rural areas use oil boilers, and the price of the kerosene used to fuel them has risen by nearly 50% compared to last year, increasing the burden of heating costs. In addition, inexpensive energy sources such as city gas are not supplied to rural areas, giving residents no choice but to pay the high costs of heating.

-Necessity of effective countermeasures against soaring heating and maintenance costs
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy decided to take additional measures to protect the energy vulnerable by supplementing its energy voucher support package policy. The plan calls for doubling the amount of support from the previous policy and doubling the discount on gas charges. However, a public consensus formed on the existence of a welfare blind spot due to the relatively small amount of support for recipients and the lower-income class who did not receive energy vouchers among basic living recipients, so additional measures were prepared. One of the problems in rural areas is that, so far, there is no policy other than the energy voucher project. Currently, the government's heating policy for the elderly is the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's energy voucher project and energy efficiency improvement project for low-income families. However, in the case of the energy efficiency improvement project, the target is limited because various facilities are provided to basic livelihood recipients and the lower-income families.

-Increase in heating costs closely related to international circumstances
The surge in heating costs is largely the result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February last year. When the supply of natural gas from Russia to Europe stopped, Europe sought natural gas from other sources all around the world, causing prices to soar. In Europe, city gas charges have increased fivefold, with charges increasing eightfold in Germany. Also, the cost of city gas has doubled in Japan. Considering the global surge in natural gas prices, the price in Korea has risen only slightly. Nevertheless, heating costs are rising everywhere, and requiring the government to prepare support measures quickly.

Lee Wan-Jun
Reporters

mic0514@kookmin.ac.kr