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Younger South Koreans have increased their investments in crypto, stock, and real estate. Recent data also suggests that Generation Z and millennials might have funded their increase in investments by taking in more debt.
Household debt by younger Koreans born 1980 onwards surged to 26 trillion won ($22.7 billion) in March based on Financial Supervisory Service data, the Korea Herald reported. The recent figure represents an increase of 4.47 trillion won ($3.89 billion) from last year.
In 2019, the household debt of millennials and Gen Z accounted for around 34 percent of the total household debt in South Korea. However, the figure grew to around 45.5 percent of the total debt by 2020 and further increased to 50.7 percent this year.
Rep. Kim Han-jeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, who shared the Financial Supervisory Service data, has called for government measures to help manage household debt levels and minimize defaults. “They have been lending excessively to buy real estate amid surging asset prices,” he said. “The young generations have been burying themselves in stock investment and buying cryptocurrencies.”
The FSS data also revealed that home-backed lending rose by 3.17 trillion won ($2.76 billion) to 18.3 trillion won ($15.92 billion) this year. Meanwhile, credit loans rose by 1.29 trillion won ($1.12 billion) to 7.67 trillion won ($6.67 billion).
Crypto trading has become increasingly popular among younger Koreans. In fact, some young workers are quitting their jobs to focus on Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto trading.
Experts believe that young workers are lured into crypto trading despite knowing its risks due to the rising housing prices that make owning a home out of reach for most employees.
“I face the reality of being unable to afford my own home no matter how hard I save up my salary,” one office worker in his 30’s said. “Despite severe volatility, there is no other way than cryptocurrency investments for me to accumulate wealth.”
