South Korea should maintain current, restrictive monetary and fiscal policies as it needs to take steps to return to sustainable finances and address inflation, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

"The monetary policy rate should stay above neutral for the time being to address inflation, with the interest rate path remaining data dependent," the IMF said in a statement concluding its two-week long visit to the country.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)