Oil companies enrich themselves in pain of high oil prices.
There is consecutive criticism of oil companies for ‘their excessive profits’ and ‘an illegal agreement’. According to inspections conducted by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy, oil companies appeared to have made enormous profits in this age of ballooning oil prices. Since 2001, the sales of five oil companies have increased by 4.3% for 3 years, but yet their operating profits have grown more than three times. Last year, oil companies are said to have turned profits of approximately 900 billion won.
Whenever parliamentary inspection of the administration begins, they always "reveal" that oil corporations make huge profits. Last year, during the parliamentary inspection, MP. Ahn Kyeungyool insisted that due to oil price hikes, oil corporations made excessive profits ranging from a high of 47.4% to a low of 21.7%.
Their tricks are palpable. They add the increased prices to the product prices, but don't duly reflect lowering of exchange rates, tariff rates, and import duties. It is natural that they make big profits. They usually say that they apply international oil product prices as costs, instead of imported oil prices, when they decide factory oil prices. In light of the suffering people experience from the oil price hikes, their explanations are absurd. What's more, international prices were put to this unusual practice only 8 years ago. It is wrong for the oil companies to dump raised prices on the people because of the accepted practices whenever oil prices increase.
Some people always suspect oil prices. First, oil companies decide the price themselves without transparency. Second, they increase the raised portion of oil prices and decrease the lowered portion. Third, there are some continuing disputes over rigged bids for oil prices. Fourth, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy is always on the side of oil companies rather than on the side of the people.
Oil companies and concerned authorities should reply to the people's questions. The higher oil prices are, the more questions they should reply to. They shouldn't force the people to take on the burden of oil price hikes. They also should bear a part of the burden to relieve the people's plight.
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 / 입력시간: 2005. 09.24. 09:02
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