[1/4] A man clears away the snow from an alley as it snows on a cold winter day in Seoul, South Korea, January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Jan 26 (Reuters) - South Korea plans to double energy vouchers and a discount of gas prices for underprivileged families to cope with spiralling heating bills amid a prolonged cold wave, officials said on Thursday. Many South Korean households began to feel the impact in recent weeks after turning up the heat amid a cold spell, with monthly gas bills up 34% last month from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. "There is an inevitable aspect of realising energy prices under these difficult external circumstances," he told a briefing. Many South Koreans expressed concerns over additional hikes in energy bills as freezing winter weather continued.

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