SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s consumer prices increased at a slower pace in February, with the growth rate staying in the 1-percent range for the fourth straight month, a government report showed Monday.

The country’s consumer prices index rose 1.4 percent on-year in February, compared with a 1.5 percent on-year advance in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it grew 0.3 percent.

The on-year figure marked the fourth straight month that the price growth has remained in the 1-percent range since November.

The core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, rose 1.3 percent on-year in February, slightly higher than the 1.2 percent tallied in the previous month, the report showed.

The report confirms that South Korea’s inflation has remained in a stable mode over the past year after soaring to about 4 percent throughout 2011. The government has placed its top priority on stabilizing prices amid worries that inflation could hurt the overall economy.

The so-called “livelihood price” index that measures the costs of key daily necessities inched up 0.8 percent on-year in February, unchanged from the previous month. The index has stayed below 1-percent for three straight months.