South Korea Further Raises Resource Security Crisis Alert Level
2026-4-8
According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on April 1, amid emerging risks of domestic oil supply disruptions, the South Korean government has decided to raise the country¡äs resource security crisis alert level from Level 2 "Caution" to Level 3 "Watch" starting at 00:00 on April 2. Meanwhile, the natural gas crisis alert level will be lifted from Level 1 "Attention" to Level 2 "Caution".
The upgrade was attributed to disruptions in international oil market procurement and a more than 20% drop in South Korea¡äs domestic crude oil inventories, which have started to exert substantial impacts on the nation¡äs economy and industries.
As part of measures to address energy supply shortages, the South Korean government announced that it will implement odd-even license plate restrictions on motor vehicles in the public sector and public institutions starting April 8, excluding electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, with approximately 70% of its oil and 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, global energy supplies have been disrupted and energy prices have surged. 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 of this alert system is Level 4.
The upgrade was attributed to disruptions in international oil market procurement and a more than 20% drop in South Korea¡äs domestic crude oil inventories, which have started to exert substantial impacts on the nation¡äs economy and industries.
As part of measures to address energy supply shortages, the South Korean government announced that it will implement odd-even license plate restrictions on motor vehicles in the public sector and public institutions starting April 8, excluding electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, with approximately 70% of its oil and 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, global energy supplies have been disrupted and energy prices have surged. 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 of this alert system is Level 4.