The default rate of corporate bills in South Korea dropped to the lowest level in a year as the number of failures by cash-strapped firms declined in the metropolitan area, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The default rate of corporate bills -- bonds, checks and promissory notes -- reached 0.12 percent last month, down from 0.19 percent in October, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is on par with 0.12 percent logged in November 2013.

The central bank credited the on-month decline to fewer defaults of cash-strapped small and medium enterprises in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

The data showed that the number of companies that went bankrupt last month fell to 61 from 72 in the previous month, falling to a six-month low. The data includes companies whose current deposit accounts have been suspended. It does not cover companies that have applied for court receivership.

The number of newly established firms, meanwhile, reached 6,647 in November, down from 7,596 the previous month.

"The number of working days in November was fewer compared with October by one day. But it seems that the overall rise in the trend is still intact," said a BOK official.

South Korea has seen a steady rise in the number of newly established firms as a growing number of baby-boomer retirees opt to start their own business. In July, the figure hit a record 8,129 companies.

The number of newly established firms in the January-November period totaled 76,808, surpassing last year's total of 75,578.

Separate data by the Small and Medium Business Administration showed that people in their 50s accounted for 25.5 percent of those who started businesses in the first half of the year. Those in their 40s came next with 39.5 percent, followed by those in their 30s at 22.6 percent. (Yonhap)