According to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association of Korea, the amount of credit card spending by South Koreans reached 147.17 trillion won, up 6.3 percent from the same period last year.
The figure marked the quarterly highest since the January-March period last year.
"The rise in credit card spending is believed to have resulted from the government's stimulus measures and the Bank of Korea's (BOK) key rate cut," the association said, adding that those measures are expected to continue to help boost consumption.
On Aug. 1, the government eased the regulations on loan-to-value (LTV) and debt-to-income (DTI) ratios to help home buyers borrow more, as part of efforts to stimulate consumption.
The central bank lowered the key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 2 percent in mid-October in a move to further support the government's stimulus measures.
The BOK made the rate cut, the second this year, after keeping the benchmark seven-day repo rate on hold at 2.25 percent for two months. It cut the key rate by 0.25 percentage point to 2.25 percent in mid-August.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
