[Anchor]

The recent upward trend in interest rates is raising serious concerns. With demand for mortgage loans and stock investment funds intersecting, household debt has already surpassed 2 quadrillion won. Analysts warn that if interest rates rise further, it could place an even heavier burden on households and the overall economy.

Reporter Min Gyeongho has the details.

[Reporter]

Borrowed out of necessity during difficult times for business,

[Hong Yoo-jin / Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province: (Have you ever taken out a credit loan?) I took one out when running my business, to pay employee salaries and things like that.]

Loans are an inevitable reality for people trying to buy a home of their own.

[Choi Myung-ho / Seongbuk-gu, Seoul: It has been about 13 or 14 years, I suppose? (Have you paid it all off now, then?) No, I haven't been able to pay it off yet. It was a big help, though. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to buy a house.]

As a result, household debt held by the public reached 2,019.8 trillion won, topping 2 quadrillion won for the first time.

In particular, other loans, including credit loans, increased by 12.8 trillion won in the second quarter, marking a larger increase than mortgage loans for the first time in three years.

This is analyzed to be due to an increase in so-called leveraged stock investments amid the surging Kospi.

With debt continuing to pile up, the recent upward trend in interest rates is causing deep worry.

Cost of funds index (COFIX), based on newly handled funds used to calculate variable mortgage rates, rose for four consecutive months to record 3.18%.

Compared to September of last year, this represents a sharp surge of nearly 30%.

If the Bank of Korea raises its benchmark interest rate again on the 27th, the upward trend in interest rates is likely to continue.

Previously, as the government raised lending barriers to manage household debt, quite a few people were pushed toward the secondary financial sector, and they are expected to face a growing burden from relatively higher interest rates.

In fact, while loans from deposit banks decreased by 200 billion won in the first quarter, loans through savings banks, insurance companies, and card firms surged by 13.7 trillion won.

Recently, when the government eased some lending regulations, it cited the GDP increase driven by the semiconductor boom as the reason, prompting opinions that decisions should be made with caution.

[Choi Jae-won / Professor, Department of Economics, Seoul National University: (The increase in GDP concentrated in semiconductors) is the problem of how it can flow into other sectors. When GDP is concentrated in a specific sector, it should not be interpreted in the same way as traditional GDP growth.]

Experts point out that sophisticated soundness management is necessary, taking into account the purpose of loans and repayment capacities.

(Video reporting: Lee Moo-jin, Video editing: Park Na-young)