Translation result 
On the 14th, the Democratic Party and the government met with the asphalt concrete (ascon) industry—hard hit by surging construction-material prices after the Middle East war—and agreed to establish social-dialogue bodies.
Lawmaker Kim Nam-geun told reporters after the Euljiro Committee’s forum with the ascon industry that two social-dialogue bodies are slated to launch next week.
Kim said asphalt supplies have dwindled and prices have risen by as much as 60% compared with prewar levels. He said refiners that produce asphalt, intermediary dealers and distributor associations, the Ascon Association, and the Road Paving Association will take part in the social-dialogue talks.
He said the Fair Trade Commission is probing possible collusion after paintmakers announced large naphtha price hikes and then retracted those notices. The planned dialogue will include five major paint companies, the Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Public Procurement Service.
Industry representatives urged the government to require refiners to disclose the basis for their asphalt price calculations and to institutionalize safeguards against abrupt increases. They said refiners currently finalize unit prices at the end of the shipping month, after which dealers issue tax invoices to the ascon industry the following month—leaving contractors unaware of prices during the contract month and forcing them to settle later.
They also said suppliers now prioritize only urgent orders, such as road repairs, and called for a legal basis to stockpile asphalt or restrict exports so authorities can allocate supplies in emergencies.
Euljiro Committee Chair Min Byung-deok warned that refiners export roughly 80% of the asphalt produced in crude-oil refining, a practice he said warrants serious scrutiny. He noted that, unlike naphtha, asphalt is not currently classified as a strategic material.
The meeting brought together the Euljiro Committee, the Korea Asphalt Concrete Cooperative Federation, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Public Procurement Service.
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