The government has decided to raise electricity prices by nine-and-a-half percent while freezing residential gas costs for the first quarter of next year.

Trade minister Lee Chang-yang revealed the hike on Friday, saying that an adjustment in electricity fees was inevitable in order to normalize the debt-ridden Korea Electric Power Corporation and the Korea Gas Corporation as well as to guarantee the continued supply of energy.

With the hike, an average household of four will see its monthly electricity bill increase by four-thousand-22 won, or about three dollars and 19 cents.

Meanwhile, the government decided to keep residential gas fees unchanged for the first quarter after taking into account a rise in heating and electricity costs in the winter.