South Korea's household spending on food as a proportion of total expenditures, known as the Engel's coefficient, reached a 17-year high. 

According to Bank of Korea data on Tuesday, households spent 573-point-seven trillion won locally in the first nine months of last year, up three-point-three percent from a year earlier. 

Of that amount, food expenses came to 78-point-nine trillion won, up four-point-seven percent. 

This means that the Engel's coefficient was 13-point-eight percent between January and September, up point-two percentage points from a year earlier.

The figure is the highest since the first three quarters of 2000 when it stood at 13-point-nine percent.