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After complaints about the excessive burden of heating costs amidst the cold wave, the government is busy.

The date of the cabinet meeting was advanced to spend 100 billion won in reserve to support the vulnerable, and President Seok-yeol Yoon ordered to review measures to reduce the burden of heating costs for the middle class.



This is reporter Kim Ki-tae.



<Reporter>



The Cabinet meeting, which was held every Tuesday morning, has been moved up a day today (the 30th).



This is to expedite the handling of the preliminary fund for heating cost support for the vulnerable and the expenditure of 100 billion won under the presidency of the Prime Minister.



In addition to the existing budget of 80 billion won, a total of 180 billion won will be urgently invested in heating cost support for the vulnerable.



Before the cabinet meeting, the vice-ministerial meeting was omitted, and the presidential approval, which was given on the evening of the cabinet meeting or the next day, was immediately made in the afternoon.



It showed that the president's office is taking seriously the public sentiment caused by the heating cost crisis.



President Yoon ordered to expand the scope of heating cost support, which was limited to the vulnerable, to the middle class.



[Kim Eun-hye/President's Office of Public Relations: At the senior secretary's meeting presided over by the President, the staff were instructed to actively consider ways to reduce the burden of heating costs on middle-class people.



] It is expected that the burden will be heavy on the public and the common people, so the president ordered all possible countermeasures to be taken.”



Prime Minister Han Deok-soo reaffirmed his position that an increase in heating costs is inevitable by saying that suppressing rates is 'populism'.



[Han Deok-soo/Prime Minister: The policy of suppressing prices that should be adjusted for a long time against the market without adjusting them is nothing other than a populist policy that adversely affects our economy.]



However, cash heating cost support through the supplementary budget is also contrary to the government's philosophy. It is a policy to be, so it looks like the trouble to find a pointy countermeasure is deepening.



(Video coverage: Joo Beom · Choi Jun-sik, video editing: Park Ji-in)



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