New and Upcoming Price Hikes

This is an exerpt from an article from one of my favorite sites Korea4expats.com that I found very informative and I wanted to share the information.  To read the full article click HERE.
"Consumers all across Korea will see an increase in their utility bills in August. On Friday 30 July, the government approved an increase in both electricity and gas rates – an average of 3.5% and 4.9% respectively. The electricity rate hike took effect right away, on Sunday August 1st, but the natural gas will stay the same until September 1st. Water rates will apparently stay the same.

The cost of travelling by bus between Korean cities is also going up; intercity bus fares have been increased by 4.3% while express bus trips will cost an additional 5.3%. On the good news front, rail fares, toll charges and postal rates will remain at their current level.

Car owners will be seeing their auto insurance premiums go up at least 3% (between 3% and 8%) starting September. Insurance firms argue that the hike is necessary as a result of recent changes in the official guideline covering auto repair costs. In June, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs raised the recommended payment range for mechanics to between 21,553 and 24,252 won per hour. Though not binding, the guideline serves as an industry-wide basis for contracts between mechanics and insurers.

Flying out of Korean is also going to be more expensive. Korean Air is hiking its fares in August up to 10%. Flights bound for the United States and Canada are going up 5% while travelers bound for many European countries as well as Australia and new Zealand are about to pay 5 to 10% more in August than in July. Asiana has just announced that it will be following Korean Air’s lead."

What this means for us in Area 1 that have to pay for our utilities is that we need to watch our power bills even more closely.  I am going to post a power spread sheet that I got from a friend that shows usage and cost. Although it is based on cost before the price hike. I personally think the military should just include the utilities in the rent.  All of the GS workers have the utilities included in the rent price and they don't have to worry about it.  Look for that post today.