South Korea plans to beef up efforts to curb the growth of household debt and mend the practice of extending home loans in a bid to prevent household indebtedness from increasing market instability, a financial watchdog said Tuesday.

South Korea's household debt stood at 801.4 trillion won (US$738.2 billion) as of the end of March, accounting for 86 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The number was higher than the average of 77 percent for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Source: Yonhap News (June 14, 2011)