It was found that Korea's total liability, combining the government, household, and corporations liabilities, exceeded 6,500 trillion won for the first time on record. The size is 2.5 times the gross domestic product (GDP).
According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on the 23rd, Korea's nonfinancial sector credit (in won terms) totaled 6,500 trillion 584.3 billion won at the end of the third quarter last year. Nonfinancial sector credit, which sums the liabilities of the government, household, and corporations, is commonly called "national total liability."
Korea's total liabilities rose steadily from 5,000 trillion won in the first quarter of 2021 to surpass 6,000 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2023, and increased to 6,220 trillion 577.0 billion won by the end of the third quarter of 2024. After that, it grew by about 280 trillion won (4.5%) in one year, exceeding 6,500 trillion won for the first time on record.
Breaking down the total liability for the third quarter last year, government liability was 1,250 trillion 774.6 billion won, household liability 2,342 trillion 672.8 billion won, and corporations liability 2,907 trillion 136.9 billion won. Compared with a year earlier, government liability rose 9.8%, while household liability and corporations liability increased 3% and 3.6%, respectively.
The ratio of total liability to GDP was 248% at the end of the third quarter last year. This means the liability size reached about 2.5 times GDP. It fell 0.3 percentage points (p) from the end of the second quarter last year (248.3%), but rose 1.5 percentage points compared with the end of the third quarter of 2024 (246.5%).