South Korea's corporate debt is expected to approach US$2 trillion in 2017, a level similar to 2009 when the country just pulled out of a foreign exchange crisis, global ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) said Sunday.

According to an S&P report, the amount of debt owed by the country's nonfinancial companies is estimated to reach $1.98 trillion in 2017, up from $1.36 trillion at the end of September.

The ratio of South Korea's corporate debt to its nominal gross domestic product (GDP) will likely climb to 122 percent from 115 percent over the cited period, it said.

The country's corporate debt-GDP ratio hovered in the 90 percent range in 2007 and 2008 before rising above the 120 percent level in 2009. A ratio of 90 percent and higher is usually deemed a risky level.

S&P said South Korea is one of the countries with a high debt-to-GDP ratio and its figure will likely lapse into the 2009 level in 2017.

As of end-September 2012, the ratio of South Korea's corporate debt to GDP was the fourth-highest among 10 major countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region after Hong Kong with 174 percent, China with 134 percent and Malaysia with 130 percent.

S&P also said China will likely reach the riskiest level with 150 percent in 2017. (Yonhap News)