Korea′s corporate debt－to－GDP ranks 7th out of 15 key OECD countries 한국， GDP 대

Corporate debt is becoming a bigger concern for Korea. Figures released today show... the country′s high ratio of corporate debt－to－GDP ranks Korea seventh among 15 key advanced countries. Kwon Soa reports. Public debt， household debt and now corporate debt are raising concerns in Korea. A parliamentary report released Monday shows Korea′s ratio of corporate debt to GDP in the second quarter of last year，... was the seventh highest among 15 key OECD member countries， at 105 percent. Ireland was number－one， at almost 190 percent， followed by Sweden and Belgium. In comparison， the figure for Korea might not seem that high. But considering that corporate debt accounted for nearly 20 percentage points of the national－debt－to－GDP increase of 45 percentage points since the global financial crisis in 2007，... Korea stands in third behind Ireland and Sweden. Data from Korea′s central bank backs up the concerns about the rising debt. It shows the nation′s corporate debt rose more than 18 percent from 2011 to 2014. More than 80 percent of that debt was held by private companies. However， analysts say this does not necessarily mean that Korean firms need to reduce their debt. ″Of course， it is safe to have a low amount of debt， but the fact that developed countries are at the top of the list shows there are other factors to consider，... as a low level of debt could also mean that a company is not investing enough.″ Still， New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmaker Oh Jae－sae， who requested the recent data， says mounting government debt is having a negative impact on the private sector， adding that a debt－centered management of the economy will have serious effects on future development. Kwon Soa， Arirang News.