A total of 1.62 million households spend more than 40 percent of their income to repay debts, according to the latest statistics. Some 480,000 households are unable to repay their debts and have stopped paying interest.

That brings the total number of households who have trouble servicing their debts to 2.1 million, or 12 percent of all households.

The KB Financial Group's research center in a report on Thursday said the total amount of debt shouldered by those households comes to W248 trillion, or 40 percent of all bank loans.

According to the KB research center, 42 percent of the indebted households or 4.14 million households, are only paying interest without repaying the principal. If those households were forced to repay part of the principal, the number of households having to spend more than 40 percent of their income to service debts would rise from 1.62 million to 2.87 million.