The number of South Koreans who filed for a personal debt bailout program rose 4.6 percent to a record high last year, data showed on Tuesday, amid concerns that household debt in Asia's fourth-largest economy is growing at a worrisome pace.

A total of 110,707 people applied for a state-managed bailout scheme last year, according to court records and financial sources.

The number has been increasing since 2010, from 46,972 that year to 65,171 in 2011 and 90,368 in 2012. It reached 105,885 in 2013, surpassing 100,000 for the first time.

The government-assisted personal bailout program is designed to give a second chance to people on the verge of insolvency by rearranging their credit obligations and writing off their debt.

People who have a stable source of income and assets and have less than 1 billion won (US$902,000) in debt are eligible for the program.

Market watchers cited the rising household debt as the main reason of the sharp rise in personal bailouts.

Data from the central bank show that the amount of household loans extended by financial institutions rose by 7.5 trillion won in November to reach a record 738 trillion won.

The on-month gain is slightly less than the record 7.8 trillion won growth in October when the Bank of Korea lowered the base rate for the second time in 2014 to a record low of 2 percent, but still marks a substantial increase.

The government's eased lending regulations, meant to revive the real estate market, also fueled household debt, according to the watchers.

In November, the amount of mortgage loans extended by all financial institutions rose 4.9 trillion won to a new high of 455.4 trillion won. (Yonhap)