The consumer price index (CPI) stood at 108.97 in October, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It was the fastest increase in nine years and nine months since January 2012.
The headline inflation topped the central bank's mid-term inflation target of 2 percent for the seventh consecutive month, with the gains of 2.3 percent in April, 2.6 percent in May, 2.4 percent in June, 2.6 percent in July, 2.6 percent in August, and 2.5 percent in September each.
The inflationary pressure was mainly driven by expensive crude oil.
Price for oil products surged 27.3 percent in October from a year earlier, logging the fastest in over 13 years since August 2008.
Price for agricultural, livestock and fishery products added 0.2 percent in October on a yearly basis, after increasing 7.8 percent in August and 3.7 percent in September respectively.
Price for electricity, tap water and natural gas gained 1.1 percent last month, and services price went up 3.2 percent.
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