Ministry of Economy and Finance

The consumer price index (CPI) in March 2025 rose by 2.1% compared to the same month of the previous year (2.0% in February 2025), driven by a larger increase in the prices of processed food and public services. Core inflation, which reflects the underlying trend by excluding volatile food and energy prices, went up by 1.9% compared to the same month last year (1.8% in February). CPI for living necessities, which are composed of items with a significant share of household spending, saw a growth of 2.4% compared to the previous year (2.6% in February) due to a slowdown in the price increases of non-food items such as petroleum products.                                                           (%) 2024 2025 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar y-o-y 3.1 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.0 1.6 1.3 1.5 1.9 2.2 2.0 2.1 m-o-m 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.1 -0.2 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.0 -0.3 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.2                                                             (y-o-y, %) 2024 2025 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar CPI excluding food and energy prices 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.8 1.9 CPI excluding agricultural product and petroleum prices 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.0 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.8 2.0 1.9 2.1                                                               (y-o-y, %) 2024 2025 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar CPI for living necessities 3.7 3.8 3.6 3.1 2.8 3.0 2.1 1.5 1.2 1.6 2.2 2.5 2.6 2.4   Going forward, with uncertainties stemming from weather conditions and geopolitical factors, the government will continue to make every effort to achieve price stability. In particular, with an aim to stabilize food prices closely linked to people’s daily lives, the government will closely monitor the supply of key items and respond promptly to any fluctuations. Not only that, much effort will be made to swiftly assess the damage to agricultural and livestock products caused by recent wildfires and analyze the supply impact to take timely action. Please refer to the attached files.

The Consumer Price Index was 116.29(2020=100) in March 2025. The index increased 0.2 percent from the preceding month and rose 2.1 percent from the same month of the previous year. Please refer to the attached pdf for the full report.

Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Kim Yoon-sang attended the 65th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) held in Santiago, Chile, from March 26th to March 30th, 2025.   The Annual Meeting discussed the key reform tasks of the IDB for 2025. Following the establishment of the IDB Institution Strategy in 2024, member countries exchanged views on the performance enhancement plans for the IDB Group to be pursued starting this year. The meeting also explored ways to strengthen economic and development cooperation in the Latin America and Caribbean region. At the meeting, VM Kim expressed support for the IDB reform tasks and initiatives led by IDB President Ilan Goldfajn. In particular, he highly appreciated the IDB’s efforts to shore up development effects, introduce various financial instruments, and expand funding through increased capital contributions to IDB Invest. In addition, he encouraged member states to show strong interest and participate in the 7th Korea-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Business Summit*, which will be held in Seoul this October in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Korea’s membership in the IDB.   * A large-scale regular event jointly organized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the IDB, consisting of programs including forums and consultations, to promote Korea-LAC economic cooperation (the first one held in 2007, followed by events in 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022).   At this year’s Annual Meeting, a joint declaration (Ready and Resilient Americas) was adopted for disaster risk management and recovery in the LAC, including for earthquakes, wildfires, and floods. VM Kim also expressed his support for this initiative.   Furthermore, VM Kim, on the occasion of the Annual Meeting, met with the IDB President, during which they reflected on the achievements of cooperation through the IDB trust funds to date. He called also for further interest and support for expanding Korea’s role within the IDB and for the entry of Korean companies into the Latin American region. Both sides agreed to jointly work towards the successful hosting of the Korea-LAC Business Summit in Seoul this October.   Not only that, VM Kim met with the Finance Minister of Chile Mario Marcel Cullell, who is the chair of the IDB Annual Meeting, to emphasize the importance of cooperation between the two countries on supply chains for key minerals such as lithium and copper. They exchanged views on bolstering economic cooperation in areas such as renewable energy and IT. Also, VM Kim requested Chile’s active participation in the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Korea this October and conveyed his intention to continue close cooperation for regional collaboration in Asia-Pacific.   Last but not least, VM Kim met with Bolivia’s Minister of Development Planning, Mr. Sergio Armando Cusicanqui Loayza, and agreed to continuously strengthen bilateral cooperation through the IDB trust fund and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). He particularly pointed out that, with the expansion of the EDCF Framework Agreement to approximately $1 billion in 2024*, Korea aims to explore additional partnership opportunities to contribute to Bolivia’s economic growth and development.   * Expansion of the EDCF Framework Agreement (F/A) limit: ($250 million for 2015-2019 → $1 billion for 2024-2028)   Please refer to the attached files.