S. Korea’s consumer prices up 2.1% in 2025, lowest in 5 years

South 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.

In December 2025, 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. (Yonhap)

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