Anchor: Private sector debt, including that held by households and corporations, is almost double that of South Korea's gross domestic product as of the third quarter. The ratio is at a record high and is expected to burden the nation's economy.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: The Bank of Korea says private sector debt accounted for 182-point-six percent of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter.
 
The ratio fell from 178-point-five percent in the fourth quarter of last year to 176-point-four percent in the first quarter.
 
But it again increased from the second quarter to break 180 percent and reach a record high.
 
Private sector debt includes loans extended to households and corporations as well as purchases on credit.
 
Saying that the nominal GDP to private sector debt ratio surpassed 180 percent means that private sector debt is one-point-eight times that of the GDP.
 
Household credit accounted for 74-point-three percent of GDP in the third quarter, up one-point-seven percentage points from the end of last year.
 
Corporate debt accounted for 108-point-three percent of GDP, rising two-point-three percentage points.
 
Meanwhile, the value of interconnections in wholesale funding, such as certificates of deposit exchanged between banks, reached 411 trillion won.
 
The figure, which shows the possibility that risks in one financial sector may spread to other sectors, increased seven trillion won from last year.
 
The central bank said private sector debt hasn't deviated much from the long-term trend, but there is a need to be cautious as it has been increasing.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.