South Korea Further Raises Resource Security Crisis Alert Level

According to Yonhap News Agency on April 1, as risks of domestic oil supply disruptions are becoming increasingly apparent, the South Korean government decided to raise its resource security crisis alert level from Level 2 "Caution" to Level 3 "Alert," effective from midnight on April 2. At the same time, the natural gas crisis alert level was raised from Level 1 "Concern" to Level 2 "Caution."

The report stated that the reason for the alert upgrade is the emergence of obstacles in international oil market procurement, coupled with a drop of more than 20% in domestic crude oil inventories, which has begun to have a tangible impact on the country's economy and industry.

As part of measures to address energy supply shortages, the government announced that odd-even license plate restrictions will be imposed on vehicles operated by public sector entities and institutions starting April 8, with electric and hydrogen vehicles exempted.

South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, with approximately 70% of its oil and about 20% of its liquefied natural gas coming from the Middle East. Since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, international energy supplies have been disrupted and energy prices have soared. The South Korean government issued a Level 1 resource security crisis alert on March 5, and raised it to Level 2 on March 18. The highest level in this alert system is Level 4.