INFLATION RATE EXPECTED TO PASS 6%

[Anchor Lead]

Everything is more expensive these days, from produce to gasoline. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho expected an inflation rate of more than 6% as early as this month. This is the first time that inflation surpassed 6% since November of 1998 during the country’s financial crisis.

[Pkg]

A supermarket in Gyeonggi-do Province. A 1.8-kilogram bag of onions used to cost around 3,300 won a month ago. But now it is nearly 5,000 won. From vegetables to fruits, it’s hard to find an item that hasn’t become more costly.

[Soundbite] Jin Bo-ram(Goyang Resident) : "A bag of apples didn’t cost more than 10,000 won, but now it costs 17,000 won."

[Soundbite] Choi Myeong-min(Goyang Resident) : "Just simple grocery shopping costs almost 100,000 won."

Fuel costs have been climbing for seven weeks in a row. This man, who has to travel 100 kilometers to commute everyday, is worried every time he fills up.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-hwan(Seoul Resident) : "I used to spend 50,000 or 60,000 won to gas up, but now it’s 80,000 or 90,000 won."

The inflation rate in May was 5.4% but the government projects the figures to go up past 6% later in the year, since the prices of raw materials have gone up.

[Soundbite] Choo Kyung-ho(Finance Minister (KBS Sunday Diagnosis Live)) : "We’ll see a 6%-range inflation in June, July and August. This high-inflation situation will persist for quite some time."

The Finance Minister vowed to utilize every means possible to stabilize prices. This is the first time consumer price inflation rate went above 6% since November 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.

[Soundbite] Cho Young-mu(Research Fellow, LG Economic Research Institute) : "Given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and food exporters’ situation, international grain prices are not likely to go down for the next several months."

The average food expenses for a four-member household in Q1 rose nearly 10% on-year, boding more financial difficulties for ordinary Koreans.