By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
Park Jeong-seon, a housewife living in Heukseok-dong, southern Seoul, recently bought lettuce seeds, after turning the rooftop of her house into a small farm, cultivating diverse vegetables. On top of her concerns over health, were the soaring prices of vegetables that turned her into an amateur farmer.
The cost of daily necessities is rising fast. It has become another burden on the economy, which is likely to face higher global oil prices in the latter half of the year.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation, the price of lettuce has doubled from a month ago. Sesame leaf, another popular vegetable in Korean dishes, rose by 43 percent. Chinese cabbage, the main ingredient in kimchi, soared a near 30 percent. Vegetable prices also rose between 10 and 20 percent due to heavy rain.
Daily necessities that Korea relies on from imports also soared. CJ Cheiljedang, the main importer of sugar, said it is raising the price of sugar by a near 9 percent from next week.
Other importers are likely to follow the decision of the main player in the oligopoly market. Since sugar is the main ingredient for most processed foods, these are likely to see upward pressure soon.
As beans also marked a steep rise in the global market, the daily necessities that are made of beans, such as oil, are expected to see a rise as well.
The prices of processed foods were already hiked around the end of last year, following the global rise among agricultural goods.
The working class is also suffering from the turbulent housing market. The price of "jeonse," Korea's unique rental system of giving a lump sum deposit to the owner, rose by nearly 1.8 percent in Songpa District, southern Seoul, last month alone. It means those who seek a house a 300-million-won deposit have to give 5.4 million won more.
The cost of buying shops in downtown Seoul soared by over 25 percent between April and July. This is also likely to motivate merchants to raise the prices of the goods and services they sell.
The government, however, doesn't have many options as it bids to cope with inflation. A court recently took the side of hagwon, or private institutes, saying it may be against the constitution for the government to put a price cap on hagwon fees. A global oil price hike, which has more than doubled since last December, is also adding to its concerns.