Rather than immediately ending the oil price cap introduced for the emergency, the government is focusing on a plan to compensate refiners' losses, the Chosun Ilbo reported, underpinned by a judgment that 'this is not yet a full end to the war.'

A price cap shields consumers from price spikes in a crisis but can leave refiners absorbing losses. Removing it suddenly risks renewed swings in market prices.

Watching oil ease as the Hormuz blockade lifts, the government appears to be seeking a balance between price stability and corporate burden, with the pace of the exit a key variable.

Energy policy generates side effects if it tilts toward consumers, firms or fiscal interests alone. Observers say a careful design weighing short-term stability against long-term market function is needed.

Sinophone Bridge Times views the exit from price controls as a question of design, not politics. When and how they are removed matters as much as when they were imposed.