South Korean President Lee Jae Myung says that rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz make it hard to be optimistic about the fallout from the Iran war, warning that high oil prices and supply-chain strains are likely to persist for some time, according to Reuters.

Lee told a cabinet meeting that the government should treat prolonged disruption in global energy and raw materials markets as a given and reinforce its emergency response system.

“For the time being, difficulties in global energy and raw materials supply chains and high oil prices will continue,” Lee said. “I ask that we pursue the development of alternative supply chains, medium- to long-term industrial restructuring, and the transition to a post-plastic economy as top-priority national strategic projects.”

Lee also urged ministries to move quickly to deploy a supplementary budget passed in response to the war.

Opinion

Trouble at home

Trouble at home

The country’s strength lies in its political and economic stability, not in fleeting moments of diplomatic success.

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