Total Household Debt Rises to W937 Trillion

The steep growth in household debt in Korea has slowed somewhat, but the rate of increase still outpaces the growth rate of the nation's economy.

The Bank of Korea on Thursday said personal loans and credit card spending in the third quarter stood at W937.5 trillion (US$1=W1,086), up W13.6 trillion from the second quarter.

Household debt in the third quarter rose 5.6 percent from the same period a year ago, way outpacing Korea's real GDP growth of 1.6 percent over the same period.

Adding inflation to the real growth rate, nominal GDP growth stood at 3.6 percent during that period, meaning household debt still increased faster.

However, the rise in household credit spending is leveling off after peaking at 8.8 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and falling to 5.8 percent in the second quarter of this year.