Korea's consumer prices up 2.1% in 2025, lowest in 5 years
People shop at a supermarket in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
Korea's inflationary pressure eased to the lowest level in five years in 2025, following the sharpest price growth in decades during the post-pandemic period, government data showed Wednesday.
Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.1 percent on-year this year, slightly above the Bank of Korea's inflation target of 2 percent, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
The figure marks the lowest annual level since 0.5 percent in 2020.
Inflation surged from 2.5 percent in 2021 to 5.1 percent in 2022 before moderating to 3.6 percent in 2023 and 2.3 percent in 2024, the data showed.
Petroleum product prices rose 2.4 percent on-year in 2025, returning to an upward trend for the first time in three years since 2022, when prices jumped 22.2 percent.
"Overall, international oil prices have fallen compared with a year ago, but rising exchange rates and a reduction in fuel tax cuts appear to have pushed up gasoline and diesel prices," said Lee Doo-won, a ministry official.
The Korean won has been among the world's weakest-performing currencies over the past year.
Prices of livestock products increased 4.8 percent, while seafood prices rose 5.9 percent.
In December, consumer prices increased 2.3 percent from a year earlier, exceeding the central bank's target for the fourth consecutive month, largely due to rising import prices amid the weak Korean won.
Inflation stayed in the 2 percent range in June and July before easing to 1.7 percent in August and rebounding to 2.1 percent the following month, remaining in the 2 percent range thereafter.
The ministry attributed this month's inflation mainly to a sharp increase in petroleum product prices, which jumped 6.1 percent from a year earlier in December, marking the largest on-year gain since a 6.3 percent rise in February.
Notably, diesel prices surged 10.8 percent, marking the biggest annual increase since January 2023, when they rose 15.5 percent, while gasoline prices climbed 5.7 percent, the largest rise since February, reflecting the impact of the weak local currency.
Prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery products rose 4.1 percent on-year, adding 0.32 percentage point to overall inflation.
Imported beef prices increased 8 percent, the sharpest rise since August of last year, while prices of mackerel, banana and kiwi also posted significant gains.
"While exchange rates played a role, overseas supply and demand conditions also contributed," Lee said.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 2.3 percent on-year in December, the ministry said.