The number of people applying for the individual debtor rehabilitation program is expected to reach a record high in 2014, according to financial authorities and a monthly report by the Supreme Court of Korea. Individual debtors with regular income can apply for the program.

The authorities said the number of applications, which has been on the rise every year, has come to more than 93,000 from January to October this year, an increase of 7.6 percent on-year.

At this rate, the total number is expected to top the number recorded last year, when it exceeded 100,000 for the first time.

Rising household debt was behind the increase, the authorities said.