Concerns are growing that the country's monetary and fiscal policies are moving out of sync, as the central bank accelerates its tightening cycle while the government pursues an expansionary fiscal policy with next year's budget proposal expected to exceed 800 trillion won ($581 billion), experts said Friday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3 percent, delivering a second consecutive hike following its July increase, as it sought to contain inflationary pressures. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Planning and Budget is in the final stages of preparing next year's budget proposal. Last month, the ministry suggested a spending increase of 10 percent or more from this year's 729.9 trillion won budget, signaling that next year's budget could exceed 800 trillion won. This would mark the first double-digit increase in total expenditures since 2009, when spending rose 10.9 percent amid the global financial crisis. Experts warned that the BOK's tightening monetary policy and the government's expansionary fiscal policy could clash, weake