For years, it's been this reporter's weekly ritual to go to a large discount store in the neighborhood for groceries and other daily necessities. It seems to be pretty much the same for most households here, except for those who have shifted entirely to shopping online.

For the past year or so, however, part of the shopping experience is seeing how much more expensive things have gotten over the past week. It is no exaggeration that everything keeps getting more and more expensive week after week, putting a heavier financial burden on families while our incomes grow at a much slower pace.

More than anything, the price of apples here is just out of control. It is hard to understand why an apple costs so much, even when considering the poor harvests as a result of unfavorable weather conditions throughout the year. Apples these days normally cost 3,000 won ($2.30) to 4,000 won each at a discount supermarket, more than double the prices a year earlier.

According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices rose by 3.3 percent in November from a year earlier, down from 3.8 percent in October, due mainly to lower prices of international crude oil and other imported raw materials. However, prices of vegetables, fruits and other fresh items, which tend to fluctuate widely in accordance with weather conditions and other unexpected events, soared 12.7 percent from the previous year, making it more costly for households to simply put food on the table.

Not only fresh produce but dining-out expenses have surged over the past year as restaurants charge more due to soaring ingredient prices and higher employee wages. Among others, "jajangmyeon," noodles in black bean sauce, and "gimbap," rice and sliced vegetables wrapped in seaweed, are no longer the food ordinary folks eat since even basic food prices have shot up so sharply.

Taxi, bus and subway fares have all gone up, and families are also expected to pay more for heating this winter due to higher electricity and gas rates, making it difficult across the board for the general public to get by.

These high prices are not good news for President Yoon Suk Yeol and the governing People Power Party (PPP), with only five months left until Koreans go to the polls to elect 300 lawmakers in April next year. They are facing an uphill battle against the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which controls the majority at the National Assembly.

It is a must for the PPP, which holds 113 seats, to break the DPK's 168-seat majority in order to facilitate a wide range of policy initiatives pushed by the Yoon administration. But the odds do not favor the ruling party, given the President's low approval rating. Some pundits even say it could lose seats to the DPK if there is no breakthrough in Yoon's popularity.

His number was briefly above 50 percent right after he was sworn in as the head of the nation in May last year but since then, it has consistently remained below 40 percent. Some attribute his low approval rating to his arbitrary style of governing, while others cite his failure in personnel management. These are all valid points. But there is no doubt that high inflation is the main culprit behind his low approval rating.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet in the fight against inflation. There isn't much the government can do to rein in the rising costs of goods and services when it is more expensive to produce them.

The Yoon administration has been pressing companies to refrain from raising prices, which may appear to be working to curb inflation because most businesses give in to the pressure at first. But, as always, companies find ways to pass the costs on to consumers. For instance, some manufacturers have resorted to "shrinkflation," a practice where they reduce the quantity of their products while maintaining the existing price.

High inflation is widely expected to persist in 2024. According to the Bank of Korea, consumer prices will grow by 3 percent in the first six months of next year, but the number could go easily higher.

The PPP desperately needs to bring down the costs of living to fare well in the upcoming general elections. It needs all the help it can get from home and abroad.

The party best keep its fingers crossed that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC member states do not cut oil production more than they already have. It must also pray for Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine, and for the U.S. and China to stop fighting and become better friends. The PPP also needs help from Mother Nature as favorable weather conditions will enable farmers to bring more apples and other agricultural produce to consumers at more friendly prices.

As always, elections come down to people's livelihoods.

The writer is business editor at The Korea Times.