Consumer prices in South Korea were up 3.8 percent on year in October, Statistics Korea said on Thursday.
That exceeded expectations for an increase of 3.6 percent and was up from 3.7 percent in September.
On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.3 percent - again topping forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent and slowing from 0.6 percent in the previous month.
Core CPI, which excludes the volatile costs of food, rose 0.3 percent on month and 3.2 percent on year after slipping 0.1 percent on month and rising 3.3 percent on year in September.
