Natural gas prices for civilian use, which are currently being supplied below cost, will rise six-point-eight percent starting next month.

According to the Korea Gas Corporation(KOGAS) on Friday, it will raise the wholesale gas rate for household usage by one-point-41 won per megajoule effective August 1. The retail price in Seoul is set to jump by six-point-eight percent.

KOGAS estimates the average four-person household in Seoul will have to pay an additional three-thousand-770 won, or around two U.S. dollars and 73 cents, a month in gas fees.

The upcoming hike will be the first in over a year, after KOGAS raised the rate by one-point-04 won per megajoule, or by five-point-three percent, in May 2023. 

The gas provider also hopes to shave off its debts, largely composed of outstanding gas charges, which surged to 13-point-five trillion won as of March 2024 from just one-point-eight trillion won as of late 2021, as the company did not reflect the spike in the cost of gas imports following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.