Cost of Instagram Glam: Bad Credit Skyrockets for Young Adults

23,000 young adults have bad credit
This number increased by 17,000 in just six months

According to recent data submitted by the Korea Credit Information Service to Jin Sun-mi, a member of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee, the number of young adults under the age of 30 who have been registered as financial defaulters due to their inability to repay loans has increased by 17,000 in just 6 months, totaling 17,000 people.

According to the data, as of the end of June this year, there were approximately 231,200 financial defaulters under the age of 30.

 

Compared to the end of last year, the number has increased by approximately 17,000 in the past 6 months, and the proportion of young adults under 30 among all financial defaulters has also expanded from 29.27% to 29.75%.

Financial transactions are suspended for individuals registered as defaulters when they have overdue loan interest for over 90 days. The registered amount, which represents the remaining loan principal of the financial defaulter, is also increasing.

The average registered amount for financial defaulters under the age of 29 increased from 21.5 million won at the end of last year to 23.7 million won at the end of June this year, while those in their 30s also increased from 34.6 million won to 39 million won during the same period.

The number of young adults applying for personal bankruptcy is also increasing. Personal bankruptcy is a legal procedure to assist individuals with financial difficulties facing bankruptcy or to provide relief for individuals with stable and regular income prospects.

 

According to the data on personal bankruptcy applicants in the past 3 years submitted by Representative Jin to the Supreme Court, there were 25,244 cases of personal bankruptcy applications by individuals in their 20s and 30s in the first half of this year.

In the previous year, there were 44,944 cases, and in 2021, there were 36,248 cases. Considering that there were over 25,000 cases in just the first half of this year, it is likely that the total number will increase compared to last year.

Some argue that the overspending of the 2030 generation of young adults may have played a significant role in producing these results.