Household loans extended by South Korean lenders increased sharply last year on the back of low borrowing costs, data showed on Sunday, stoking concerns that the country's household debt could balloon further.
According to the data compiled by the country's six major lenders including Kookmin and Shinhan, home-backed lending, which accounts for roughly 90 percent of the total, increased 10.8 percent, or 29.2 trillion won (US$26.44 billion), last year to 299.8 trillion won.