Household debt has soared to a fresh high in South Korea.
 
According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, loans and other debt owed by South Korean households reached one-thousand-419 trillion won by the end of September.
 
That is the highest amount of debt seen since records began in 2002.
 
Despite various government measures to cool down debt in the country, household credit grew by 31-point-two trillion won in the third quarter. The pace of growth quickened to two-point-two percent quarter-on-quarter from two-point-one percent in the previous quarter.
 
Mortgage loans grew eight trillion won, up from the six-trillion won range during the first and second quarters.
 
A central bank official attributed the growth to vigorous trade in the property market and a pickup in consumer sentiment as well as the launch of branchless banks in Korea.