South Korea Approves Cash Relief for 36 Million Citizens Amid Fuel Price Surge

South Korea will provide cash assistance to about 36 million people as the government moves to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Officials said on Monday that the National Assembly approved a supplementary budget of 26.2 trillion won (17.8 billion dollars) aimed at addressing the economic effects of the crisis, including a new round of direct cash support for low- and middle-income earners.

The latest package targets the bottom 70 per cent of income earners and follows an earlier programme launched in April, under which vulnerable groups and basic livelihood beneficiaries received up to 600,000 won in support.

Applications for the second phase of the programme will open next Monday.

Under the scheme, eligible residents in the greater Seoul area will receive 100,000 won, while those living in regions facing population decline could receive as much as 250,000 won each.

Eligibility will be determined using households’ national health insurance payments recorded in March. Single-person households that paid 130,000 won or less in insurance contributions are expected to qualify.

Authorities said individuals earning 43.4 million won or less annually are also likely to be eligible, although the final assessment will primarily rely on health insurance contribution records.

However, around 930,000 households will be excluded from the programme, including those with assets exceeding 1.2 billion won as of 2025 or those who earned more than 20 million won in financial income in 2024.

The application window for the assistance programme will remain open until July 3.

Beneficiaries will receive the funds through credit or debit cards, prepaid cards, or local currency vouchers.

The support funds, which must be used before Aug. 31, can only be spent at small local businesses with annual sales of 3 billion won or less.

Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung said the relief package is expected to reduce the burden of high fuel prices caused by the prolonged Middle East conflict while also helping to revive consumer spending.