Nearly 100,000 South Koreans Entered Debt Adjustment Programs in First Half

Nearly 100,000 South Koreans entered debt adjustment programs in the first half of the year as high interest rates and rising prices made it harder to repay loans.

Data obtained by National Assembly member Park Seong-hoon from the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service showed that 97,199 people had confirmed arrangements between January and June. The figure includes rapid debt adjustment, pre-adjustment and individual workout programs.

The number of confirmed debt adjustment cases has risen sharply. It increased from 121,095 in 2022 to 189,062 last year, more than 1.5 times higher in three years. The first-half figure already exceeded half of last year’s total, putting the annual number on course to approach 200,000 if the trend continues.

Individuals made up most of the cases, with 85,044 people receiving adjustments. Another 12,155 cases involved self-employed borrowers. Rapid debt adjustment, available to people delinquent for 30 days or less, showed a particularly steep increase, rising from 16,766 cases in 2022 to 53,551 last year.

The increase was especially marked among older borrowers. Rapid-adjustment cases rose among people in their 60s from 1,015 to 5,339, and among those aged 70 or older from 239 to 1,684 over the same period. Applications for small loans by borrowers making regular repayments reached 14,893 in the second quarter, the highest quarterly level since 2022.