The Bank of Korea(BOK) said Thursday that recovery in consumption is weaker than in the past and the recovery pace will remain slow due to the burden of household debt.

In a policy report submitted to the National Assembly, the central bank said that since the fourth quarter of 2016 when economic conditions hit bottom, exports and investment have been recovering at a similar level to past years when the economy was in a recovery phase. But the BOK said that private consumption was still weak.

The report noted that consumption grew two-point-three percent through the third quarter of last year. This compares to a minimum three percent and as much as over ten percent growth recorded in the same period during the past six economic recovery cycles since 1989. 

The BOK forecast the pace of recovery in consumption may slow down further in the future due to the growing burden of having to pay off household debt.