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Debt relief leaves South Korea's older borrowers facing an income gap

A series of reports follows seniors from borrowed-money business ventures to bankruptcy, finding that debt forgiveness alone cannot replace a missing income.

Channel: KBS News ·

South KoreaStory of October 29, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of KBS News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 311,308 views.

KBS News: The news division of KBS, South Korea's public broadcaster. 3.7M subscribers and 12B views.

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Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:22A gap between retirement income and public pensions pushes some older workers toward businesses financed with loans.
2:18Older bankruptcy applicants describe savings depleted by medical bills and reliance on expensive borrowing.
4:19Seoul Welfare Foundation records show most older bankruptcy applicants lacked steady employment and had little income.
6:21Busan reporting finds older borrowers' confirmed debt restructurings rose over 80 percent across five years.
7:58The compilation restarts the same sequence of reports rather than introducing a new segment.

Having debts forgiven does not necessarily end the struggle. For older South Koreans without steady work, the next living expense can mean borrowing again, according to reporting by South Korea's Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) News.

The compilation examines several routes into financial distress: the gap between leaving a long-held job and receiving a public pension, businesses started with borrowed money, and savings exhausted by illness or unemployment. Its later segments return to a central problem: people can emerge from bankruptcy without enough income to stay out of debt.

Lee Jeong-yoon, a business owner in his early sixties, describes looking for employment but finding few suitable openings that used his skills. He instead borrowed 50 million won to start a business, a financial burden he describes as severe. Financial welfare counselor Choi Bong-seok explains that people whose businesses generate unexpected debts can return seeking help with basic living costs.

Another report follows bankruptcy applicants whose ability to repay collapsed. A man in his seventies describes turning to card loans because cheaper conventional credit was unavailable. He recalls believing he could get through the difficulty with a little more work, provided he remained healthy. Medical expenses and lost earnings made that calculation untenable for seniors featured in the reporting.

An examination of Seoul Welfare Foundation records finds that the overwhelming majority of older bankruptcy applicants were unemployed or working temporary jobs, with little money to live on. The report also describes recurring debt even after earlier debt forgiveness.

In Busan, the country's second-largest city, the reporting finds that confirmed debt restructurings among people aged sixty and older increased by more than 80 percent over five years. Borrowing for living expenses and health care was a principal driver.

Credit Counseling & Recovery Service examiner Bae Jeong-eun identifies the obstacle behind those cases: older borrowers need jobs to generate repayment income, but that income is often absent.

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