South Korea's consumer inflation for 2025 slowed to 2.1% from 2.3% in 2024, official data showed on Wednesday, roughly in line with the Bank of Korea's target of 2% to potentially bolster the case for the bank to pause interest rates at the current level for longer. The Bank of Korea on November 27 kept interest rates unchanged at 2.50% for a fourth straight meeting and signaled the bank could be nearing the end of its current rate cut cycle.