Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol has hinted at the possibility of a benchmark rate hike.  

Speaking at a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday to endorse his second term as the central bank chief, Lee said it is right to raise interest rates given the current economic situation. 

He said that if economic recovery continues, it will produce the effect of monetary easing. He also said the current key interest rate level is “easing” enough, adding one or two rate hikes will not make it an austere monetary policy.

Regarding the household debt amounting to one-thousand-450 trillion, he said it requires caution, stressing the need to keep it under control.