The pretax price of gasoline per liter fell to 522 won (44 cents) this month, lower than that of bottled water, largely due to the continuous drop in international crude oil prices, officials said Wednesday.

According to Opinet of the Korea National Oil Corp., the price of gasoline before tax took a dive to 522 won on average this month, a 27 percent drop from a year ago and 44 percent lower than the same month in 2013.

The price is comparable to that of a half-liter bottle of water, sold at between 350 and 400 won at supermarket chains across the country. As such, the price of two half-liter bottles is higher than a liter of gasoline, a rare case in a country that relies completely on international imports for its oil. The country imports crude oil to meet more than one-third of its energy demands.

Despite the sharp drop in oil prices, consumers remained numb over the price changes because of the large amount of tax imposed on the oil products, market watchers said.

The benchmark gasoline price for consumers posted 1,435 won per liter as the government imposes taxes of more than 900 won per liter. The list includes an oil tax of 745 won, value added tax of 143.58 won and a smaller custom tax and import tariff.

As of the first week of December, the average pretax price per liter of gasoline sold in South Korea stood at 578 won, lower than the average price, 596 won, among a group of 18 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. New Zealand topped the list at 782 won per liter, followed by the state of California in the United States at 700 won.

But prices after taxes were relatively lower in other OECD member nations, according to the report, as the countries imposed smaller taxes on oil products. The U.S., for instance, levied about 122 won of tax on oil per liter, the report said.

Crude oil prices have fallen to seven-year lows as members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to set an oil production ceiling earlier this month.

On Friday, benchmark U.S. crude fell more than 3 percent to a fresh seven-year low after the International Energy Agency warned that the supply glut will continue next year.

By Cho Chung-un  (christory@heraldcorp.com)