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Did you endure well today (26th)?

It was already cold, but it was a more difficult day as the snow was pouring.

As you can see from the cold weather that has been going on for several days, everywhere in the village is frozen, even the stairs, and the effort to block the cold is felt even outside the window.

With heating bills rising amid a cold wave like a freezer, the lives of our neighbors in need are getting harder and harder.

So, today, the President's Office hurriedly came up with a heating cost support plan for the vulnerable.

The key content is to double energy cost support.



The first news today, reporter Ki-tae Kim.



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At 9:00 am, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok, who was instructed by President Yoon Seok-yeol, held an emergency briefing on behalf of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the main ministry.



It is a measure to support heating costs, and it is decided to double the amount of energy voucher support for 1.176 million households of the vulnerable from 152,000 won to 304,000 won this winter alone.



In addition, the amount of discounted rates for 1.6 million households subject to social consideration supported by KOGAS was doubled.



Chief Choi said that the recent increase in heating costs was due to a surge in international natural gas prices, and pointed out the previous government's response to suppressing rate increases despite factors that have increased over the past few years.



[Choi Sang-mok/President's Office of Economic Affairs: There is an unavoidable aspect of realizing energy prices in difficult external conditions.

However, the government will make the most of its policy efforts to minimize the burden on the people in this process.]



It was a belated solution to the so-called heating cost bomb .

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Local governments have also taken action.



The city of Seoul decided to provide heating costs of 100,000 won each to 300,000 households receiving the basic livelihood security, and Gyeonggi-do announced that it would pay 200,000 won for January and February heating costs to the elderly and severely disabled households receiving the basic livelihood security.



The Democratic Party also proposes a total of 7.2 trillion won in support for high energy prices to 80% of the people, and the government, local governments, and the opposition parties are urgently trying to turn off the lights in the heating cost bomb.



(Video coverage: Joo Bum/Lee Yong-han, video editing: Lee Jae-seong)