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The bank debt of millennials and Generation Z -- together including those born from the 1980s forward -- spiked as they increased investments in real estate, stocks and cryptocurrencies, data showed Thursday.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service data released by Rep. Kim Han-jeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, millennial and Gen Z household debt from local banks surged to 26 trillion won ($22.7 billion) in March, up 4.47 trillion won from a year ago. Home-backed lending increased 3.17 trillion won to 18.3 trillion won, while credit loans grew 1.29 trillion won to 7.67 trillion won on -year.
The younger generations’ household debt accounted for 50.7 percent of their total debt this year, increasing from 45.5 percent in 2020 and 33.7 percent in 2019.
“They have been lending excessively to buy real estate amid surging asset prices. The young generations have been burying themselves in stock investment and buying cryptocurrencies,” Rep. Kim said, calling for measures to manage debt and minimize the default risks for millennials and Gen Z.
By Byun Hye-Jin (
hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)
