[Anchor]
The government announced that last month's consumer price inflation rate stayed below 3 percent for the second consecutive month. It means prices have not risen significantly compared to last year, indicating stability. However, considering the cumulative shocks over the past several years, the pain felt by ordinary citizens is not fully captured in these statistics.
Reporter An Huijae has the story.
[Reporter]
[March 29, 2024, '8 News': There is kimchi stew along with as many as seven side dishes. Yet the price has remained at 6,000 won for two years.]
We revisited a restaurant designated by the government as a "good restaurant" for being cleaner and cheaper than surrounding eateries, two and a half years later.
Though they struggled desperately to keep prices from rising, most menu items had ultimately been raised by 1,000 won each, an increase of nearly 20 percent.
[Han Eun-sook / Owner of a "Good Price Establishment" in Singil-dong, Seoul: I wish I didn't have to raise them, but prices keep going up so I have no choice. All ingredients, paper cups, everything has gone up. Even so, people still call our place a cheap restaurant...]
Another "good restaurant" revisited after 3 years and 8 months.
In the past, a meal could be had for under 8,000 won, but with prices increased by 2,000 to 3,000 won across the board, the restaurant's menu board has become tattered with corrections.
With gas, electricity, rent, and labor costs all surging, the owners lament that they had no choice but to raise prices by around 30 percent.
[Cho Myung-soon / Owner of a "Good Price Establishment" in Dangsan-dong, Seoul: (Thinking of regular customers) We held out as long as we could, and now we only employ workers for short shifts of three hours each. We need to save our bodies some strain. So we sell a little less and raised the prices slightly.]
According to a survey by the Korea Consumer Agency, staple foods frequently sought by ordinary people, such as kimbap, jajangmyeon, kalguksu, and naengmyeon, have seen steep price hikes of over 30 percent in five years.
This is why ordinary citizens do not feel the relief, even though consumer price inflation rose 2.8 percent last month, staying below 3 percent for two consecutive months.
[Kim Sung-sook / Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul: (When grocery shopping) In the past, 15,000 won or 20,000 won was enough, but now a 50,000 won bill disappears in no time. Prices continue to soar....]
As high inflation persists year after year, both small business owners and ordinary citizens are being crushed by its cumulative weight.
(Video Editing: Kim Jin-won, Design: Kim Ye-ji, VJ: Lee Ji-hwan)
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