The average household loan balance per borrower in the nation has climbed to a record 97 million won, about 66‑thousand dollars, underscoring mounting concerns over household debt.

According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea to Rep. Park Sung‑hoon of the People Power Party on Monday, the average outstanding household loan per individual debtor reached 97‑point‑21 million won at the end of the third quarter of last year — the highest level since the central bank began compiling data in 2012.

The figure has risen for nine consecutive quarters since the end of the second quarter of 2023 and is more than two million won higher than a year earlier.

Total household loan balances have also increased for six straight quarters since the end of the first quarter of 2024, surpassing 19‑hundred trillion won for the first time at the end of the second quarter of last year and rising further to one‑thousand‑913 trillion won by the end of the third quarter.

Park warned that with monetary policy constrained by a weak won, mounting household debt is weighing on consumption and contributing to sluggish sales among self‑employed businesses, worsening conditions in the real economy.