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Quite a few people are surprised to see the recent heating bill.

There are also articles complaining of the burden, saying that there are many cases where hundreds of thousands of won have risen from the previous month, but the problem is that it will rise again this year.



This is reporter Jeongyeon's report.



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An apartment in Yeouido, Seoul.



A notice was posted in front of the elevator saying that heating costs had risen by 127% compared to last month.



Heating efficiency is already declining due to old plumbing problems, and heating costs have risen sharply as gas prices have risen.



[Residents: Oh, a lot came out, a lot came out.

It came out to be exactly 380,000 won.

(How much was it originally in winter?) About 200,000 won.] On



the Internet, posting images of their bills and complaining about skyrocketing heating costs are following.



[We heated it in the same way as last year, matching the heating temperature to 25 degrees.]



As the price of natural gas imports rose in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and the rising exchange rate, the government raised gas rates four times last year.



The annual increase rate exceeded 38%, which even affected heating costs linked to gas bills.



In addition, as the amount of usage in winter increases, the impression that citizens feel has increased.



Public bathhouses that use commercial gas are on the verge of extinction.



[A couple of Mrs. Jeong (running a bathhouse): In December 2021, it was 2.19 million won, but in December 2022, the last month was about 3.91 million won.

(Were you surprised when you received the notice?) Ah, I thought you were passing out.

It goes up, it goes up, I heard it on the air now, but I didn't know it would rise this much.] The



Ministry of Industry froze gas rates for the first quarter of this year in consideration of the electricity rate hike, but it is highly likely that city gas rates will continue to rise this year as they are considering an increase after the second quarter.



[Yoo Seung-hoon/Professor of Energy Policy Department at Seoul National University of Science and Technology: It is now inevitable to raise city gas rates in the second or third quarters because we have to reduce the deficit of KOGAS and buy natural gas from abroad with it.



] The burden of essential living expenses, such as heating costs, is rapidly increasing, and the worries of the common people and small business owners are deepening.



(Video coverage: Hyuncheol Park, Video editing: Byeongjik Kim, VJ: Hyunwoo Park)