SEOUL– Self-employed people’s debts increased 5.8 percent in 2021 from a year earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Friday.
Loans extended by financial institutions to the self-employed averaged 178 million won (US$138,000) as of end-2021, up 9.75 million won from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
The delinquency rate for self-employed people came to 0.32 percent, down 0.08 percentage point from the previous year.
By industry, people operating businesses in the healthcare and social welfare sector on average received loans worth 608 million won, followed by the agricultural and fishery industry with 312 million won.
By age, those in their 50s on average took out loans worth 203 million won, trailed by people in their 40s with 196 million won, the data also showed.
Source: Yonhap News Agency