Young Koreans Carry Average 3.26 Million Won in Revolving Credit; 1 in 5 Exceeds 5 Million Won

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summary service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items for each reader type.

1. SK Founding Generation Chairmen Revived Through AI: "Don't Fear Crisis"

- Key Summary: SK Group marked its 73rd anniversary by producing and releasing a 5-minute video recreating founding Chairman Chey Jong-kun and late Chairman Chey Jong-hyun using AI. The video contains SK Group's growth journey from rebuilding Sunkyong Textiles after the Korean War to the decision to produce nylon, oil-textile vertical integration, and entry into mobile telecommunications, along with quotes from both chairmen. While computer graphics or stand-ins were used previously, this marks the first time an entire video was produced using AI. Chairman Chey Tae-won said, "The accuracy of the video and audio is at a considerable level, and the quality will be much higher in one to two years."

2. Young Men Losing Ground in Workplace as Highly Educated Women, Older Workers, and AI Advance

- Key Summary: According to a Bank of Korea report, the labor force participation rate for men aged 25-34 has fallen 7.6 percentage points over 25 years to 82.3%, significantly below the OECD average of 91%. The probability of labor force participation for men with four-year university degrees or higher fell 15.7 percentage points compared to the reference generation, while women rose 10.1 percentage points, effectively shifting the composition of highly educated workers to a 50-50 structure. Most youth jobs lost over the past four years were concentrated in occupations with high AI exposure, and highly educated workers accounted for 104% of the increase in employment rates among highly educated older workers. The BOK stated that easing rigidity in regular employment protection and providing vocational training and new technology education in response to industrial structure changes are necessary.

3. Young People's Credit Card Revolving Balances Approach Average of 3.3 Million Won

- Key Summary: According to the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency's '2025 Youth Finance Survey,' young revolving credit users (256,906 people) carry an average monthly balance of 3.26 million won, with 20% exceeding 5 million won. The average revolving credit rate among eight major card companies reaches 17.3%, and 82% (70,391) of the 84,847 young people with loan delinquencies are in long-term arrears of 90 days or more. Some 54% of young people have experienced insufficient living expenses in the past year, and the early termination rate for the Youth Hope Savings Account reached 27.8%, showing a pattern of abandoning asset building. Rep. Lee Jeong-moon said, "The fact that 8 out of 10 young delinquent borrowers are in long-term arrears is a structural problem," urging the establishment of customized financial safety nets.

4. Hana Financial Chairman Ham's Personnel Order: "Develop Female Branch Managers"

- Key Summary: Hana Bank is pursuing a plan to rehire retired branch managers to form mentoring organizations for new female branch managers and managers. Hana Financial operates 'Hana Waves,' a next-generation female leader development program, with approximately 120 graduates to date, and the proportion of women in middle management within the group has expanded by more than 5 percentage points from 21.2% in 2022 to 26.5% in 2024. With women accounting for 6,758 (approximately 65%) of Hana Bank's 10,346 domestic employees, strengthening corporate banking and organizational management capabilities in addition to retail banking experience has emerged as a challenge. Financial industry observers say this is an attempt to raise overall organizational capabilities through field-centered mentoring.

5. 'Opportunities for Youth': Gyeonggi Job Foundation Operates Future Work Experience Support Program

- Key Summary: The Gyeonggi Job Foundation is operating the 'Future Work Experience Support Program (Internship Type),' a public institution-based practical work experience program, in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Nineteen public institutions including the Gyeonggi Contents Agency and the Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology are participating, providing work experience to 98 young people in various fields including management, culture, and research. Participating youth will be recruited and selected this month and participate in the program for approximately 10 weeks starting on the 27th, with allowances and accommodation expenses provided. The foundation explains this is a project to support young people's job competency enhancement and entry into the employment market.

6. Half of Companies Say "Most Burdensome Regulation Is Serious Accident Law"

- Key Summary: In a survey of 517 companies with 50 or more employees conducted by the Korea Employers Federation, 49.9% cited the Serious Accidents Punishment Act as the most burdensome regulation. Demands for improvement followed in order of working hour regulations (25%), environmental regulations including carbon neutrality (15.5%), and tax regulations including inheritance tax and corporate tax (11.2%). Top regulatory innovation policies requested from the government were strengthening indemnity for proactive public administration (23.8%) and strengthening total regulatory reduction systems (22.2%). Meanwhile, 63.8% of respondents said they were satisfied with the current government's regulatory rationalization efforts, with the transformation of the Regulatory Reform Committee into the Regulatory Rationalization Committee receiving positive evaluation.