SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's credit card spending increased nearly 10 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier, data showed Monday, raising concerns over a possible recurrence of a credit card bubble.

Credit card spending by South Koreans reached 261.7 trillion won ($237.5 billion) in the January-June period, compared with 239.1 trillion won in the previous year, according to industry data.

Given that South Korea's credit card spending totaled 493.8 trillion won in 2010, market watchers said the figure may easily surpass 500 trillion won by the end of the year.

The projected amount is the highest since the 622 trillion won recorded in 2002, a year before the country was hit by a credit card bubble burst, stemming from excessive issuance of the cards.

The rise in credit card spending comes as more people opt to use credit cards over cash for purchases. According to the data, the portion of credit purchases to household spending reached a record 60.1 percent in the first half.

In a bid to curb excessive credit card spending worsening the country's heavy household debt, the financial regulator has been keeping tabs on credit card firms' total assets, new card issuances and marketing costs.

South Korea's household debt, which includes loans and credit purchases, totaled 876.3 trillion won as of the end of June, raising concerns over households' high indebtedness.