Finance chief vows all-out efforts to fight inflation

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol speaks during a meeting with relevant government agencies at the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

The country's top economic policymaker said Thursday that the government will mobilize all available tools, including taxes and fiscal measures, to rein in rising inflation and reduce the burden on ordinary people.

In a meeting with high-ranking officials, such as from the agriculture ministry, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said the government's top priority at present is price stabilization.

The minister said energy prices have been rising since the Middle East war, and unusual weather conditions are affecting inflation as well.

Last week, President Lee Jae Myung also said inflation is the government's most urgent policy challenge and urged officials to devise extraordinary measures to stabilize prices and ease the burden on households.

Consumer prices in Asia's fourth-largest economy rose 3.1 percent in May from a year earlier, marking the fastest growth in 26 months, amid the Middle East conflict.