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The nation’s household debt has been rising at a slower pace recently, but the number of struggling families has increased, government data found Friday.
According to Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and Bank of Korea, the average amount of household debt was 52.91 million won as of the end of March.
The growth rate was 1.7 percent, a sharp decline from 12.7 percent last year.
Of the nation’s total households, those with debt made up 64.6 percent, up 1.8 percent from the same period last year.
The average financial assets of Korean households increased 5.8 percent to 314.95 million won this year.
Their financial soundness also improved as the debt-to-asset ratio slightly decreased from 17.3 percent to 16.8 percent.
The annual report on household finances has been published for the third time since 2010, amid growing concerns over the risk underlying the high level of household debt in Korea.
The country’s total household debt reached a record 937.5 trillion won as of the end of September, tantamount to more than 70 percent of the gross domestic product for last year.
The growth pace of household debt has lately slowed down after the government and regulator introduced various policy measures aimed to curb the rise. The focus of such measures was mainly aimed at debt restructuring through banks for those with high risks of default.
Also, each household’s disposable income relatively increased, the report said, with the financial debt ratio to disposable income falling 6 percentage points to 103.6 percent.
The report showed, however, 68.1 percent of households consider the repayment of principal “a burden,” with nearly 26 percent saying it’s “an extreme burden.”
As of the end of March, the ratio of households’ principal repayment to their disposable income came in at 17 percent, down from 18.3 percent in the tallied period, the report showed.
By Lee Ji-yoon and news reports
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)
According to Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and Bank of Korea, the average amount of household debt was 52.91 million won as of the end of March.
The growth rate was 1.7 percent, a sharp decline from 12.7 percent last year.
Of the nation’s total households, those with debt made up 64.6 percent, up 1.8 percent from the same period last year.
The average financial assets of Korean households increased 5.8 percent to 314.95 million won this year.
Their financial soundness also improved as the debt-to-asset ratio slightly decreased from 17.3 percent to 16.8 percent.
The annual report on household finances has been published for the third time since 2010, amid growing concerns over the risk underlying the high level of household debt in Korea.
The country’s total household debt reached a record 937.5 trillion won as of the end of September, tantamount to more than 70 percent of the gross domestic product for last year.
The growth pace of household debt has lately slowed down after the government and regulator introduced various policy measures aimed to curb the rise. The focus of such measures was mainly aimed at debt restructuring through banks for those with high risks of default.
Also, each household’s disposable income relatively increased, the report said, with the financial debt ratio to disposable income falling 6 percentage points to 103.6 percent.
The report showed, however, 68.1 percent of households consider the repayment of principal “a burden,” with nearly 26 percent saying it’s “an extreme burden.”
As of the end of March, the ratio of households’ principal repayment to their disposable income came in at 17 percent, down from 18.3 percent in the tallied period, the report showed.
By Lee Ji-yoon and news reports
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
