South Korea's finance minister Kim Jin-pyo said on Sunday he expected the country's record number of credit defaulters to begin falling in coming months.
"As the number of new credit defaulters fell in the fourth quarter, I expect the total number of credit delinquents to turn lower during the first half," Kim said in a TV panel discussion.
The number of South Koreans unable to repay loans and make credit card payments reached a record 3.65 million in November, or one in 10 South Koreans over the age of 15.
The country is struggling to overcome a soured credit boom that hit private consumption hard and drove major card companies to solvency crises.
Kim reiterated a government forecast that domestic consumption would start recovering in the second half, "following a correction in the first half."