Consumer prices in South Korea were up 4.8 percent on year in April, Statistics Korea said on Tuesday.
That exceeded expectations for an increase of 4.4 percent and was up from 4.1 percent in March.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7 percent - again topping forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent and unchanged from the previous month's reading.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile costs of food, was up 0.4 percent on month and 3.1 percent on year - accelerating from 0.1 percent on month and 2.9 percent on year a month earlier.
