Korean food prices were the second highest among 30 OECD member countries. According to an OECD consumer price index for May, food prices in Korea rose by 11 percent from a year ago, second only to 17.5 percent in Iceland.

Iceland is bankrupt and received a US$2.1 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in November, making Korea's food price growth the highest among functioning OECD economies.

Since the G7 average and OECD average are 1.9 and 2.7 percent, food prices in Korea rose four to six times more than in other advanced economies. Overall consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in Korea, while the OECD average was only 0.1 percent.

The rising trend continued in June. According to a report by the National Statistical Office on Wednesday, food prices in Korea increased by 8.1 percent in June from a year ago.