Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon says it is time to think more seriously about raising interest rates.

At a parliamentary interpellation session Thursday, the prime minister warned of ramifications stemming from a persistently low interest rate, including foreign capital flight, an interest rate reversal between Korea and the U.S. and a rise in household debt.

Lee criticized the low-rate policy during the former Park Geun-hye government, which he said encouraged people to take out loans to purchase residential property leading to increased household debt.