The Bank of Korea (BOK) and the agriculture ministry remain at odds over the cause of fresh produce price inflation, experts said Thursday.

A central bank report released Tuesday said the prices of apples and potatoes in the country were up to three times higher compared to its advanced peers, due to low productivity, low trade openness and high distribution costs. The spike in prices, it added, was the key factor for a delay in disinflation, a major driver of elevated living expenses straining the lives of many amid high borrowing costs.

However, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung said the BOK used too broad a stroke, thus failing to factor in key characteristics specific to the country’s farming and trade conditions.

The difference in opinion making news headlines is the byproduct of BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong’s mandate, as reiterated during the 74th anniversary of the central bank last week. He is committed to elevating the central bank as a leading research institution full of smart nonconformists unconcerned about potential backlash or criticism for 스포츠 broaching the issues of extreme social disparities. Included on the BOK’s list of “divisive” reports are wealth polarization, inequality in income and socioeconomic status, pension reforms, low birthrates in a rapidly aging economy, elder poverty, labor market duality and balanced growth.

Some say the central bank’s misplaced priorities could undermine its core dual mandate of price stability and financial stability, as sidetracked by the top monetary policymaker’s personal ambition. The BOK has yet to temper Korea’s inflation to the target of 2 percent, with the prospect of a rate cut elusive.