[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s household debt was up 11 percent on-year in the second quarter, despite stricter lending rules, the central bank said Aug. 25.

The country’s overall household debt climbed to 1,257.3 trillion won (US$1.122 billion) in the April-June period from 1,131.5 trillion won in the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

Quarter-on-quarter, household debt, which includes credit-card spending, rose 2.7 percent, it said.

Lower rates have pushed up the country’s household loans in recent years. The country’s key policy rate stands at an all-time low of 1.25 percent.

The government has toughened lending rules for loans as part of its preemptive efforts to contain ballooning household debt, which economists fear could dampen consumer spending amid slumping exports.


(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)