Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol says tackling the slump in the labor market and the overheated housing market with monetary policies alone will not be easy. 

Lee made the remark after attending the bank’s monetary policy board meeting Friday when asked by reporters if such problems can be tackled with interest rates. 

He said structural factors, rather than economic ones, have a lot to do with such problems, citing that monetary policies clearly have limits when tackling structural problems given that they're centered on aggregate demand.

As reasons for surging housing prices in Seoul and surrounding regions, the governor cited some region’s development projects and ensuing expectations about a rise in prices as well as the absence of other fields for investment. He also noted abundant liquidity as another reason for the sharp rise in housing prices.