The head of South Korea's central bank has hinted at a possible rate hike within the year.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Bank of Korea(BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeoul said there is a need to normalize monetary policy within this year in an orderly fashion.

This is the first time that Lee placed a timeframe for a rate hike, though he had previously suggested that the central bank could exit from pandemic monetary easing if the economic recovery is solid.

There is speculation that the BOK may increase the current key rate of point-five percent by point-25 percentage points in October, then by another point-25 percentage points in either January or February next year.