South Korea's consumer inflation is expected to ease towards a 2% medium-term target level by the end of 2024, the country's central bank said on Wednesday.

"Going forward, the inflation rate will ease unless oil price rises significantly and as shocks from supply-side diminishes, but the pace of that will be gradual," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in its biannual review of inflation conditions.

The BOK's minutes from the Nov. 30 rate decision meeting showed the majority of the bank's seven board members maintained a hawkish stance despite keeping rates paused, with some members arguing additional increases may be necessary if inflation proves to be stickier than expected.

South Korea's year-on-year inflation eased to 3.3% for the first time in four months in November, bringing relief to policymakers worried about persistent inflation risks as they plan to keep their restrictive monetary policy in place for longer. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Jamie Freed)