Consumer prices rise 2.4% in October, fastest pace in 15 months

Customers shop at a supermarket in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest pace in over a year in October, driven by higher costs for personal services, including travel, and food, government data showed Tuesday.

Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.4 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marks the largest on-year increase since July 2024, when inflation climbed 2.6 percent.

In 2025, inflation had remained above the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target for four consecutive months through April before slowing to 1.9 percent in May.

It then climbed again, staying above 2 percent in both June and July before briefly slowing to 1.7 percent in August and again climbing over 2 percent in September.

The ministry attributed last month's increase mainly to a sharp rise in personal services, which include overseas group travel, lodging and beauty services but excludes dining out expenses. Prices of such services rose 3.6 percent, contributing 0.72 percentage point to overall inflation.

"The increase largely reflects higher travel demand during the Chuseok holiday," said Lee Doo-won of the ministry. This year's extended holiday fell in early October.

The ministry also cited continued price increases in agricultural, livestock and fishery products, which jumped 2.3 percent on-year, adding 0.25 percentage point to overall inflation.

Pork and mackerel prices rose notably, by 6.1 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Prices of industrial goods climbed 3.5 percent from a year earlier in October, though the pace slowed from September's 4.2 percent growth.

The ministry attributed the slowdown to seasonal discounts.

Petroleum products rose 4.8 percent, marking the largest on-year increase in eight months after the 6.3 percent hike seen in February.

Lee said the rise reflected a combination of base effects from last October's 10.9 percent drop in international oil prices and recent currency fluctuations.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.2 percent in October, accelerating from September's 2 percent increase.

The government will maintain vigilance and make every effort to stabilize consumer prices, given ongoing uncertainties, such as weather conditions, the finance ministry said.

The ministry also said it plans to continuously monitor the prices and supply of essential goods closely and take swift action as needed to protect households' cost of living.