The government has decided to extend fuel tax cuts by two months until April to reflect soaring global oil prices. 

Finance minister Choi Sang-mok revealed the decision on Friday when he met with reporters in Sejong as the reduction in such taxes is set to expire at the end of this month. 

He said it was inevitable to extend the tax cuts as oil prices both at home and abroad have recently begun to climb again. 

As a result, the current 25 percent fuel tax cut on gasoline and 37 percent on diesel and liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) will remain in place through April.

Such reduced rates have been in effect for gasoline since last January and for diesel and LPG since July 2022. 

The government’s decision comes as the Dubai crude price, Korea's benchmark, again surged to the 80 dollar-range per barrel this month while the average price of gasoline sold at pumps nationwide topped one-thousand-600 won per liter.