Consumer Price Survey (Index)

Survey Outline > Prices > Consumer Price Survey (Index)

Overview

Survey Name

• Consumer Price Survey (Index)

Survey Type

• Survey Statistics

Type of Statistics

• Designated Survey (Approval No. 10107)

Purpose

• An index to measure the average price of goods and services. The index is used as base data for fiscal and financial policies of the government and as a deflator of major economic indicators such as household economic index and national income accounts.

Frequency

• Monthly

Target Population

• Representative Items: 481 consumer items purchased by households for their daily living
• Surveyed cities: 37 major cities nationwide
• Subjects: Approximately 26,000 stores of retailers and service providers; approximately 10,500 tenant households

Survey Unit and Target Population Size

• Survey unit: businesses (stores of retailors and service providers), households (rent)
• Target population size: Approximately 26,000 stores of retailers and service providers; approximately 10,500 tenant households

Survey Reference Period and Date

• Agricultural, fishery and livestock products, oils: 3 times a month (weekdays in the first, middle, last part of each month); industrial products: once a month (middle part of a month)
• Electricity, water, gas: once a month (last part of a month); service: once a month (last part of a month), rent: once a month (first part of a month)

History

• 1936: The first Consumer Price Survey was compiled by Gyeongseong Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Aug. 1945: The Bank of Joseon, the predecessor of the Bank of Korea compiled the Survey.
• 1947: Based on the prices of both 1936 and August 1945, the Seoul Retail Price Index was compiled and released.
• April 1949: Weights by item were introduced for the first time.
• 1955: Service charges included in the Index .
• 1965: The National Bureau of Statistics, Economic Planning Board started to compile the Consumer Price Index of all the Cities instead of the Bank of Korea.
• Dec. 1990: The National Bureau of Statistics, Economic Planning Board was upgraded to the Statistics Korea, an organization to compile and release the Consumer Price Index.
• 1992: From the Index in 1990, the Consumer Price Index was produced and released in 4 special categories as well as 3 basic categories.
• 1997: From the Index in 1995, the Index included owner-occupied housing as a supplementary index.
• Feb. 2000: CPI excluding agricultural products and oils was compiled.
• Dec. 2006: The basic classification standard restructured to COICOP, an international classification standard, in the index in 2005; 489 items were covered in the survey.
• Nov. 2011: The basic classification system for 2010 base index restructured based on Korea COICOP; electricity, water, gas classified separately under Classification by Commodities & Services; Weight population expanded from urban households of one or more to nationwide households of one or more (excluding agricultural and fishery households); index compiled excluding food and energy (OECD method); 481 items were covered in the survey.
• Dec. 2013: To better reflect the reality, the CPI adopted shortened weight revision cycle (2~3 years).

Data Provision

Method of Publication and URL

• Press releases, KOSIS data

Publication Frequency

• Monthly

Publication Title

• Monthly Consumer Price Index, Annual Report on the CPI