The Highest Inflation in 10 Years... Government to Announce 'Seol Minsheng Measures' This Week

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Last year, consumer prices surged to the mid-2% range annually, marking the highest level in 10 years. The government plans to announce Lunar New Year livelihood measures focused on 'price stabilization' this week. With high inflation expected to continue for the time being, the announcement of livelihood measures has been moved up earlier than usual.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 2nd, the Lunar New Year livelihood stabilization measures will be finalized and announced within this week. Supplies of Lunar New Year seasonal goods will also be provided starting three weeks before the holiday, one week earlier than last year. Lee Eok-won, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, said, "With global inflation trends expanding, the burden of grocery prices is increasing ahead of the Lunar New Year, making efforts to ease price and livelihood burdens urgent."

According to the 'Annual Consumer Price Trends' released by Statistics Korea last week, the consumer price index rose 2.5% compared to the previous year, showing the largest increase in 10 years since 2011 (4.0%). The living cost index, which reflects the actual perceived inflation, rose 3.2% compared to last year, also the highest since 2011 (4.4%).

Agricultural, livestock, and fishery products showed the largest increase, jumping 8.7% compared to a year ago, while industrial products (2.3%) and service prices (2.0%) also rose sharply due to the surge in international oil prices.

In particular, this high inflation trend is expected to continue through the first half of this year, raising alarms for price management.

The Lunar New Year livelihood measures to be announced by the government are expected to focus on stabilizing prices, including 16 major seasonal goods ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said, "Stabilizing prices for ordinary citizens' daily lives will be our top priority."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.