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Consumer prices in Korea rise over 2 percent in April as processed food, dining costs soar

Published: 02 May. 2025, 17:11 Updated: 02 May. 2025, 18:05

Customers shop at a Lotte Mart in Eunpyeong District, northern Seoul, on April 1. [YONHAP]

Consumer prices in Korea rose by over 2 percent for the fourth consecutive month in April, driven by sharp increases in processed food and dining costs despite falling global oil prices, which helped reduce fuel costs.

According to Statistics Korea on Friday, the consumer price index (CPI) for April stood at 116.38, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier. After staying in the 1-percent range from September to December 2024, inflation climbed to 2.2 percent in January and has remained above 2 percent for four months.

Processed food prices surged 4.1 percent, pushing overall inflation up by 0.35 percentage points. This marks the sharpest increase since December 2023, when it rose 4.2 percent. The recent depreciation of the Korean won, which intensified at the end of last year, appears to have fed into higher import costs with a time lag, contributing to price increases.

Prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products rose 1.5 percent. Livestock prices jumped 4.8 percent, the largest gain in 33 months since July 2022, which increased 6.1 percent, due to a decline in slaughter volumes and rising import prices for pork. Seafood prices also climbed 6.4 percent amid reduced catch volumes.

Service prices rose 2.4 percent overall, with public services up 1.3 percent and private services up 3.3 percent. Dining-out costs rose 3.2 percent, the steepest increase since March 2024, which was 3.4 percent.

Petroleum product prices fell 1.7 percent, reflecting the impact of falling international crude prices. As for the effects of recent wildfires in the Yeongnam region and new U.S. tariffs, officials said no price impact has been observed yet.

“There are no specific items that have seen price increases due to the wildfires,” said Lee Doo-won, an official at Statistics Korea. “There is some possibility that tariffs could drive up prices of foreign-manufactured goods, but we have not seen that materialize yet.”

The core inflation index — excluding food and energy prices, as calculated under OECD standards — rose 2.1 percent, returning to the 2-percent range for the first time in seven months. Another core index that excludes agricultural products and petroleum rose 2.4 percent, up from 2.1 percent the previous month. Core inflation, which excludes temporary external shocks and seasonal effects, is often used to assess longer-term inflationary pressure. The increase in this figure is seen as a signal of sustained inflation pressure.

“For the time being, both consumer prices and core inflation are expected to hover around the 2-percent level,” said Kim Woong, deputy governor of the Bank of Korea. “While overall inflation appears stable, rising uncertainty from the U.S. tariff policy has prompted us to plan a close review of future inflation projections.”

The fresh food price index dropped 1.9 percent, the steepest decline since March 2022, when it fell 2.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the living necessities index, which covers 144 frequently purchased items, rose 2.4 percent, matching the pace in March.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG WON-SEOK [[email protected]]