Inflation hit 6.3% in July, the highest level since November 1998.
South Korea’s prices rose more than 6% in July from last year, the fastest increase in nearly a quarter of a century.
The East Asian economy’s consumer price index rose 6.3% last month, Statistics Korea data showed on Tuesday, up from 6% in June.
On a monthly basis, the index gained 0.5% last month, down slightly from a 0.6% gain in June.
The increase, in line with market expectations, marked the highest rate of inflation since prices rose 6.8% in November 1998.
The notable inflation data comes as the Bank of Korea (BOK) prepares to raise interest rates at its next policy meeting on August 25.
The central bank is widely seen as having more room to raise interest rates after Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew faster than expected 2.9% year-on-year in the second quarter. .
BOK last month posted an unprecedented half percentage point increase to raise the benchmark interest rate to 2.25 percent.
Central bank policymakers, who have already begun raising interest rates before most of its peers, have described the July increase as unusual, signaling that there is more to come more modest increases in the future.
