South Korea's Household Credit Surpasses 2,000 Trillion Won in Q2

SEOUL, Aug. 16 (Yonhap) -- Household credit in South Korea is surely to have topped the 2,000 trillion-won (US$1.41 trillion) landmark in the second quarter, driven by increased home-backed loans and stock loans, according to industry sources Sunday. According to the sources, household credit reached an all-time high of 1,993 trillion won at the end of March, up 14 trillion won from the end of last year, which represents the seventh consecutive quarterly increase, though the pace of growth slowed for the second straight quarter. Household credit refers to credit purchases and loans extended to households by financial institutions. But outstanding household loans by all financial institutions are estimated to have risen by at least 21 trillion won during the second quarter of the year, which means outstanding household credit surely surpassed the 2,000 trillion-won threshold. The government has implemented a series of measures to cool the overheated housing market and curb household debt. But demand for homes has not weakened, and stock loans have been on the rise in tandem with a bull run in the stock market. For the full year of 2025, household credit increased by 56.1 trillion won, or 2.9 percent, from a year earlier, marking the fastest growth since 2021, the data showed.