One in two South Korean employees live in debt, with the average reaching 34.94 million won ($30,040), a survey showed Friday.

Recruitment portal service JobKorea surveyed 1,079 employees on their household economy. To a question as to whether they had a loan taken out under their name, 45.2 percent answered yes.

The amount of debt increased by age, with 34.2 percent in their 20s saying they were in debt, 48.8 percent of those in their 30s and 56.5 percent of those aged 40 and over.

More men (55 percent) than women (37.4 percent) had a loan to pay off.

Most, or 62.6 percent, of employees who are married said they had taken out a loan, compared to 38 percent among the unmarried.

The size of debt was an average of 54.86 million won among the married employees and 20.12 million won among single workers. The overall average was 34.94 million won.

The biggest portion of the debt came from purchasing a house, at 68.3 percent. Some 15.1 percent said they were in debt to pay for daily expenses. Among unmarried people, 36.7 percent cited school loans.

Of the respondents, 4 in 10 said they had taken out another loan to pay off debt.

Among the married employees, the largest number, 33.2 percent, said they plan to pay off debt within five to 10 years.

South Korea’s household debt has been ballooning, with the amount reaching 1.22 quadrillion won as of the end of the first quarter, surging by 125.5 trillion won on-year.

The Bank of Korea’s latest cut of key interest rate to an unprecedented low to 1.25 percent also sparked concerns that it would accelerate the growth of household debt. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)