A record 8,475 South Korean borrowers in their 30s received approval in 2025 to defer repayments under the income-contingent student loan program, up 15.4% from 7,346 a year earlier, according to National Tax Service data obtained by Rep. Park Soo-young of the People Power Party on the 23rd. Borrowers in their 30s first outnumbered those in their 20s in 2024, and the gap widened to 2,285 last year as deferrals among people in their 20s fell to 6,190. Borrowers in their 30s accounted for 15.019 billion won, or 61.7%, of the 24.33 billion won deferred in 2025. The program requires repayment after income exceeds a set threshold, but allows borrowers facing job loss, business closure, resignation or parental leave to postpone payments based on reduced current income. Repeat deferrals and subsequent arrears are also rising. The trend coincides with falling employment among people in their 20s, longer waits for first jobs, reduced entry-level hiring and a rise in young people leaving the labor market after working. Park said the figures showed that more young people could not repay debt even at an age when employment and income would normally be expected to be stable.