Consumer prices in October rose by the most in 15 months. Demand for services such as travel and lodging increased due to the first "extra-long Chuseok holiday" in eight years, and frequent rain delayed shipments of agricultural products. The government drew a line, saying "there was no impact from consumption coupons." It said price increases were limited at places where coupons were used, such as casual restaurants and grocery stores, and coupons could not be used in the travel and lodging institutional sector that led this price rise.
According to the "Consumer price trends for October 2025," released by the National Data Office on the 4th, last month's consumer price index was 117.42 (2020=100), up 2.4% from October last year. It was the biggest gain in 1 year and 3 months since July 2024 (2.6%). Month over month, it also rose 0.3%, marking a third straight monthly increase.
◇ Travel prices jump on the first extra-long holiday in 7 years… fruit and grains up on rainy weather
Service prices led the gains. As travel demand surged during the seven-day Chuseok holiday, the first since 2017, related expense such as lodging and rental cars rose across the board.
The year-over-year increase in overseas group tour costs jumped from -4.9% in the previous month to 12.2%, passenger car rental fees from -11.7% to 14.5%, and condo usage fees from 2.0% to 26.4%.
The rise in dining-out prices was limited to 3.0%, slowing from 3.4% the previous month thanks to discount promotions by some franchises, but prices for personal services excluding dining out rose 3.6%, lifting overall inflation.
"Climate inflation" caused by abnormal weather was also observed. The rise in agricultural product prices climbed from -1.2% in September to 1.1% in October, as frequent rainfall reduced sunshine hours and delayed shipments.
Specifically, fruit rose 10.9% from a year earlier, with apples up 21.6%. Grains, including rice, surged 21.8%. However, vegetables such as napa cabbage (-34.5%) and radishes (-40.5%) fell sharply (-14.1%) as shipments increased.
Im Hye-young, Director of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's price policy division, said, "October is usually a month with good weather, but this time it rained for more than 10 days (14.2 days), which is unusual," adding, "Travel and lodging demand clustered during the long holiday, and prices of agricultural products such as apples rose due to delayed shipments."
Lee Du-won, deliberation officer for economic trend statistics at the National Data Office, said, "If shipments of Fuji (apples) increase later this month, prices of fruit and the like are expected to stabilize again."
◇ "Use of consumption coupons focused on the food institutional sector… not usable for trips to other areas"
Some suggested the government's "people's livelihood recovery consumption coupons" policy may have stoked inflation, but the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) dismissed that. It explained that coupon use was concentrated mainly at casual restaurants, supermarkets, and food retailers, unrelated to the personal services excluding dining out that drove this increase.
Officials also cited the restriction that consumption coupons can only be used at the address listed on one's resident registration. They cannot be used for online payments or on lodging reservation platforms, meaning they have no direct impact on travel and lodging expenditure.
Director Im said, "For example, a resident of Gyeonggi Province cannot use a coupon issued to them for travel to another region," adding, "This rise in prices is the result of weather and Chuseok demand rather than consumption coupons."
While the government views the factors behind this price increase as short-term, it also sees the possibility that uncertainty in prices of agricultural, livestock, and marine products could persist due to weather conditions. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) plans to continuously monitor prices and supply-demand conditions for key items closely tied to people's daily lives, such as food, and prepare response measures if necessary.
Director Im said, "When we announced the new government's economic growth strategy in Aug., we set the annual inflation target at 2%, and whether we can keep it will depend on the indicators in Nov. and Dec.," adding, "To reduce volatility caused by abnormal weather, we are pursuing smart farm-related policies over the medium to long term."