On Monday, stock prices of oil and gas-related companies surged after President Yoon Suk Yeol approved exploratory drilling for potentially massive natural resource reserves off South Korea's southeastern coast. Seven out of the 10 stocks that hit upper price limits were related to oil and gas, driving the benchmark Kospi up by 1.74 percent. State-run Korea Gas Corp. saw its shares skyrocket by 29.9 percent, closing at 38,600 won ($28), while other private sector shares, including Korea Petroleum, Hung-gu Oil, Daesung Energy, and Dongyang Steel Pipe, also reached unprecedented highs with nearly 30 percent gains. Key industry players such as SK Gas, SK Innovation, and steelmaker Posco International also recorded significant increases in their stock prices. The surge in prices followed the president's authorization of a large-scale exploration drilling project in deep-sea areas off Yeongil Bay near Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, based on a government and foreign seismic research company's study that confirmed the substantial prospects of the natural resources. The government estimated that the buried gas and oil would be sufficient for the country's use for 29 years and four years, respectively, with Industry Minister Ahn Deok-geun comparing the potential amount to five times the market capitalization of Samsung Electronics, the country's largest company valued at 452 trillion won on the Korean stock market as of Monday's closing.