Debt owed by South Korea's individuals, businesses and the government last year all exceeded the "critical points" set by an international organization, data showed Tuesday, indicating that the country's debt problems are deteriorating and restraining economic growth.

According to the data analyzed independently by Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker, the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios for individuals, companies and the government came to 10-46 percent above the crucial points set by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Rep. Lee said he obtained and analyzed the data from the finance ministry, the Bank of Korea and a state-run think tank. 

Debt owed by individuals came to 1,219 trillion won (US$1.16 trillion) as of end-2013, which represented 85.4 percent of GDP. It was higher than the WEF-set critical point of 75 percent, the data showed. 

Businesses' debt totaled 1,810 trillion won at the end of last year, with its debt-to-GDP ratio standing at 126.8 percent. It is also higher than the 80 percent set by the WEF. 

The data showed that the national debt, including debt by the government, public organizations and pension funds for public servants and soldiers came to 1,641 trillion won last year. This is

114.9 percent of the GDP, higher than the WEF's critical point of 90 percent. 

The data comes amid concerns that growing household debt is a major factor hurting domestic consumption and may drag down the overall economic growth. 

On Monday, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan told lawmakers that he shares the concerns that if household debt grows "beyond the level of the government's control," it could significantly hurt households' consumption capacity. But he said that the chances are "low" that the debt problem would turn into a systemic risk. (Yonhap)