South Korea's bank loan delinquency rate rose in October on expectations for the policy rate hike, financial watchdog data showed Tuesday.

The ratio of bank loans overdue at least a month came in at 0.58 percent of the total as of the end of October, up 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

It came as market rates went higher amid the growing expectations for the central bank's interest rate hike.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its target rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.75 percent in late November, the first rate increase in 12 months.

The delinquency ratio for corporate loans, extended by banks, advanced 0.06 percentage points over the month to 0.85 percent at the end of October, while the figure for household loans rose 0.01 percentage point to 0.27 percent.

The financial watchdog said it would closely monitor market situations amid the expected rise in borrowing costs.