SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Debt held by South Korean wage workers in their 20s jumped 15 percent on-year in 2021, much higher than 7 percent growth on average for all wage workers, data showed Tuesday. Bank and nonbank loans extended to paid workers in the country averaged 52.02 million won (US$40,107) per person [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to set aside 11.7 trillion won (US$9.48 billion) in low-interest rate loans for developing countries by 2025 and seek a new partnership in war-torn Ukraine as well, the finance ministry said Thursday. Under the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), South Korea plans to approve 3.8 trillion [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of people are struggling to pay back loans with as interest rates continue to rise, a central bank report said Monday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) reported that the average debt service ratio (DSR) of mortgage borrowers in the third quarter of this year reached 60.6 [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly 60 percent of South Koreans aged between 40 and 64 held debt in 2021 as more people took out loans to purchase houses amid soaring property costs, data showed Tuesday. The proportion of middle-aged South Koreans who borrowed money from banks or other financial institutes came to 57.3 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of South Koreans are redeeming their credit debts prior to their expiration date due to heavier financial burdens caused by rising interest rates, with some even willing to pay penalties for redeeming debts prior to the due date. Rep. Yun Chang-hyun of the People Power Party [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The outstanding amount of “jeonse” home rental loans among young people rose sharply this year, a lawmaker said Monday. South Koreans in their 20s and 30s hold 96.36 trillion won (US$73.3 billion) in debt issued to pay for deposit-based rental homes, said Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial regulator said Monday state-run policy lenders plan to increase loans with low and fixed interest rates to small firms to help ease their financial burdens caused by high inflation and rising borrowing costs. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a policy briefing to President Yoon [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — About one out of eight mid-aged people in South Korea has borrowed money due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 3,923 people by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 12.5 percent of people in their 40s [...]
SEOUL, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of loans issued to young South Koreans from the non-banking financial sector is on the rise, with some being pushed into declaring bankruptcy. Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party shared a report from the Financial Supervisory Service that showed young South Koreans under the age of [...]
SEOUL, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans in their 20s and 30s are struggling with rising interest rates. A majority of loans for jeonse (long-term deposits for rent), in particular, are provided at floating interest rates, which makes young South Koreans react to an increase in interest rates with concern or give up on [...]