South Korea Inflation Rate Accelerates in August

2026-09-01 23:18 By Joshua Ferrer 1 min. read

South Korea’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.1% in August 2026 from 2.8% in July, moving further above the central bank’s 2% target but below market expectations of 3.2%.

The increase was largely driven by a one-off factor of low-base effect from temporary mobile-service discounts last year, with mobile service fees surging 26.7% year-on-year and lifting public-service prices by 6.5%.

Petroleum prices also remained elevated, rising 14.2%, although slower than the 15.5% increase in July.

Excluding the temporary impact of mobile fees, inflation would have been around 2.5%, according to the Finance Ministry, while nationwide fuel-price caps reduced the headline rate by 0.3 percentage points.

Meanwhile, core inflation, excluding food and energy, accelerated sharply to 3.4% from 2.6%, marking its fastest annual increase since May 2023.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.2% in August, falling short of market estimates for a 0.3% gain but rebounding from a 0.2% decline in July.



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South Korea Inflation Rate Accelerates in August
South Korea’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.1% in August 2026 from 2.8% in July, moving further above the central bank’s 2% target but below market expectations of 3.2%. The increase was largely driven by a one-off factor of low-base effect from temporary mobile-service discounts last year, with mobile service fees surging 26.7% year-on-year and lifting public-service prices by 6.5%. Petroleum prices also remained elevated, rising 14.2%, although slower than the 15.5% increase in July. Excluding the temporary impact of mobile fees, inflation would have been around 2.5%, according to the Finance Ministry, while nationwide fuel-price caps reduced the headline rate by 0.3 percentage points. Meanwhile, core inflation, excluding food and energy, accelerated sharply to 3.4% from 2.6%, marking its fastest annual increase since May 2023. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.2% in August, falling short of market estimates for a 0.3% gain but rebounding from a 0.2% decline in July.
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