The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that it seeks to raise water rates that have been frozen for a decade in the second half of this year.
The municipal office of waterworks is pushing for a 9.9-17 percent raise in water charges to improve management efficiency, officials said.
The office has experienced difficulty in preparing money for a project to improve the city's water quality due to heavy debts worth 278.8 billion won ($247 million) that have been accumulated for a decade, officials said, adding that revision of a related local ordinance is necessary to increase the fares.
The local government, however, said it plans to minimize the increase in water charges for use at homes and stores run by low-income self-employed workers to help stabilize the lives of the working-class people.
"Although there are many factors to increase fares, we will have full consultation (with related offices), collect public opinions and carry out the policy in steps as the working-class economy is in difficulty," a city official in charge of the water service said. (Yonhap)