South Korea Inflation Rate

Last Release

Aug 31, 2025

Actual

1.7

Units In

2.1

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Oct 01, 2025

Time to Release

28 Days 22 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
32.5 Oct 1980	-0.4 Sep 2019	6.76 %	1966-2025	Statistics Korea

In South Korea, the most important categories in the consumer price index are Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (17 percent of total weight) and Food and non-alcoholic beverages (13.6 percent of total weight). Others include Restaurants and hotels (12 percent); Education (11.4 percent); Transportation (10.9 percent); Health (7.3 percent); and Clothing and footwear (6.2 percent). The components with the least weight are Communication at 5.8 percent; Miscellaneous goods and services at 5.4 percent; Recreation and culture at 5.3 percent; Furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance at 3.8 percent; and Alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 1.24 percent.

Latest Updates

South Korea’s consumer prices increased 1.7% year-on-year in August 2025, slowing from July’s 2.1% rise and falling short of market expectations of 2%. It marked the lowest reading since November 2024, largely driven by a temporary drop in telecommunication costs. Communication prices slumped 13.3% after SK Telecom, the nation’s largest mobile carrier, offered a 50% discount on monthly subscription fees to all 24 million users following a data breach. In contrast, the biggest price increases came from food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.9%), miscellaneous goods and services (4.8%), and furnishings, household equipment, and routine maintenance (3.7%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices slipped 0.1% in August, reversing July’s 0.2% gain which was also the consensus forecast.