Consumer prices in South Korea were up 1.5 percent on year in July, Statistics Korea said on Wednesday - the lowest reading since May 2000.
The headline figure was below expectations for 1.9 percent and down sharply from 2.2 percent in June.
Inflation also slipped below the central bank's target range of 2 to 4 percent last month, the data showed.
On month, overall inflation was down 0.2 percent versus forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent after easing 0.1 percent in June.
Core CPI, which strips out the volatile costs of food, was flat on month and up 1.2 percent on year. That follows the 0.3 percent monthly gains and the 1.5 percent annual increase in the previous month.
In addition, the South Korean government has trimmed its inflation forecast for 2012 from 3.2 percent to 2.8 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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