Total debt of Korean students more than ￦1T, says study

Korean university students are struggling with a surging amount of debt, a report by an opposition lawmaker shows.

The total debt of more than 1 trillion won ($835,771) excludes student loans for tuition, the report added.

Rep. Min Byung-doo from New Politics Alliance for Democracy, said in the report on Friday, based on data from Financial Supervisory Service, that the total balance of loans given to university students studying for bachelor’s and master’s degrees amounted to 1.089 trillion won as of July, rising 23.8 percent from the end of March, 2013.

The total number of loans issued to students was 66,375, the report said, with an average of 16 million won per student.

The report pointed out the balance surged by 91.2 billion won this year, a 9.19 percent increase from the end of December last year.

The rising trend in student loans reflects the serious youth unemployment, Min said, and financial regulators should keep eye on the pace.