SKorea's Lee warns Middle East conflict to keep oil price high

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz made it hard to be optimistic about the fallout from the Iran war, warning that high oil prices and supply-chain strains were likely to persist for some time.



Lee told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday the government should treat prolonged disruption in global energy and raw materials markets as a given and reinforce its emergency response system.



"For the time being, difficulties in global energy and raw materials supply chains and high oil prices will continue," Lee said.



"I ask that we pursue the development of alternative supply chains, medium- to long-term industrial restructuring, and the transition to a post-plastic economy as top-priority national strategic projects."



Lee also urged ministries to move quickly to deploy a supplementary budget passed in response to the war.



At the meeting, ministers outlined steps to contain the economic shock from the conflict, including support for crude imports, controls against hoarding of petrochemical feedstocks and medical supplies, and expanded financial assistance for affected companies.