South Korea’s total debt, encompassing government, household, and corporate sectors, surpassed 6,500 trillion won for the first time, according to data released Friday by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The figure represents a 4.5% increase from the 6,220.577 trillion won recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
The BIS data, reported by SBS News and the Chosun Ilbo, shows that government debt reached 1,250.7746 trillion won, while household debt stood at 2,342.6728 trillion won, and corporate debt totaled 2,907.1369 trillion won. The 9.8% year-over-year increase in government debt was the highest among the three categories, with household and corporate debt rising by 3.0% and 3.6% respectively.
The total debt now equates to 248.0% of South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP), a slight decrease from 248.3% in the second quarter of 2025, but up from 246.5% in the same period last year. The BIS defines non-financial sector credit as the combined debt of government, households, and non-financial corporations, measured through loans and bond issuance.
The rise in total debt comes as the country grapples with economic headwinds. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Trading Economics data, as reported by Edzeko, display South Korea’s government debt-to-GDP ratio at 54.5% to 55.2% in 2025, lower than that of Japan (252.4%), Singapore (173.0%), the United States (124.0%), France (110.6%), and even the Eurozone average. However, the ratio is projected to approach 60% by 2029.
According to the IIF, South Korea’s GDP-to-government debt ratio rose to a record high of 48.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 43.6% a year earlier. While still lower than major economies like the US (122.8%), Japan (199.3%), the UK (81.1%), Germany (62.5%), and France (110.4%), the trend marks a significant increase. The IIF data indicates a reversal of a downward trend observed earlier in 2024, when the ratio decreased from 45.4% in the first quarter to 43.6% in the second.
The national debt is continuously increasing, having surpassed 5 trillion won in the first quarter of 2021, 5.5 trillion won in the fourth quarter of the same year, and 6 trillion won in the fourth quarter of 2023. The government has not yet commented on the BIS data or announced any specific measures to address the rising debt levels.
