Stop partisan bickering and seek long-term solutions
It was unusually cold and snowy this winter in Korea. Cold waves and heavy snow warnings were issued frequently, with temperatures in some cities falling to record lows.
Climate experts attribute the extreme weather ― not only the intense heat of the summer but also the severe cold experienced during winters ― to "global warming." They explain that an overall rise in temperature has started the melting of the Arctic ice caps and let them move southward, warning that extreme weather events will be the new normal.
The increased cost of heating bills that Koreans received this winter is also compounding what has already been a tough and cold season. Families in small apartments saw their gas bills soar up to 600,000 won ($485) last month. The dominant topic at family reunions during the Lunar New Year holiday last week was the increased cost of heating one's home.
Subsequently, finger-pointing between rival political parties has followed.
The first thing the incumbent government and its party do whenever something terrible happens is to blame their predecessors.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said the former Moon Jae-in administration had suppressed gas price hikes for the past few years and passed the "bomb" onto its successors and consumers. However, the same PPP lawmakers might also have criticized the previous administration had the latter raised energy prices, saying something like: "The government's utility rate hikes added to the pain of the public, which was already reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic."
It had been predicted that Russia's war in Ukraine would not end anytime soon, prolonging the global energy crisis.
European countries have prepared for it, asking their people to brace themselves for a chilly winter and keep the room temperature in their homes below certain levels. President Yoon Suk Yeol and his aides should have done the same ― or even more, given this country produces not a drop of oil and is the world's seventh-largest importer of energy resources. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon was right to chastise the PPP, saying, "Why did they come to power if they keep blaming others?"
Still, the government did well by deciding to double both energy vouchers and gas price discounts for more than a million of the most vulnerable families.
It would have been better had the government expanded similar benefits to a larger number of middle-class families. However, formulating an extra budget or levying a "windfall tax" on refineries, as proposed by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), does not seem to be a good idea, either. There is no free lunch in the economy. The current benefits will come back as more enormous burdens later, like purchases in installments with high-interest credit cards.
Korea could minimize increases in gas prices and power rates thanks to the state-controlled energy supply system. But accounts receivable or uncollected amounts at Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. will soon likely reach uncontrollable levels. Considering the chronic energy shortage amid global political uncertainty in the future, what the nation should do is clear ― diversify energy resources and import sources while saving energy by promoting more efficient use.
For instance, instead of giving one-off favors, the government must spend money to encourage businesses and families to repair homes and offices in order to improve insulation. It should also tell people to forget about the good old days when stores kept their doors open and carelessly used air-conditioning or heating.
Policymakers should also change the current energy price system. Korea's electricity price is only one-third of Germany's, and Koreans' per capita power consumption is the third-highest worldwide, following such vast, resource-rich countries like the U.S. and Canada.
Again, extreme weather and energy shortages will be the new normal ― at least until the world can entirely replace fossil fuel and atomic energy with renewable alternatives.
More efficient use of energy will be a must for the economy, the earth and our descendants. Policymaking and campaigning in this direction are political leaders' duties. Political leaders should not be mired in short-term vote calculations.
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