SEOUL - South Korea's consumer inflation is expected to exceed 6% as early as June, or possibly in July or August, the finance minister said on Sunday.

South Korea's consumer inflation in May rose to 5.4%, its highest in 14 years.

Finance minister Choo Kyung-ho said the government was watching the situation very closely and making an all-out effort to stabilise consumer prices, during an interview with local broadcaster KBS.

Choo said he did not see the Korean won's recent weakness below 1,300 per dollar as a sign of economic crisis, as it was in line with the dollar's strength globally.

He reaffirmed that the authorities would take market stabilising measures if herd-like movements intensified in the currency market.

South Korea's central bank governor Rhee Chang-yong said last week that the country's June consumer price index was likely to be higher than the May figure.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Edmund Klamann)