South Korea's household debt soared by more than one-hundred-34 trillion won last year on-year, setting a fresh all-time high of over one-thousand-862 trillion won.

The Bank of Korea said on Tuesday that household credit exploded to one-thousand-862-point-one trillion won in late December, recording the highest total since the government began compiling data in 2003.

Household debt refers to the outstanding amount owed to financial institutions after credit purchases and loans by a single household.

The figure marks a debt growth of over one-hundred-34 trillion won last year alone, which marks the second largest gain since 2016.

Debt growth slowed in the fourth quarter, however, dropping to half of the gains seen during the second and third quarters due to reduced housing transactions, loan restrictions and an interest rate hike.