[South Korea's Mortgage Loan Rates Rise to Highest Level in Over Two and a Half Years] Reported by Jinse Finance, on July 28, according to Yonhap News Agency, data released by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday showed that due to rising market interest rates, bank household mortgage loan rates increased for the second consecutive month, reaching the highest level in two years and seven months. The data revealed that the average interest rate on new loans from South Korean banks last month was 4.31%, up 0.12 percentage points from the previous month. The average interest rate on corporate loans rose by 0.14 percentage points to 4.27%, while the interest rate on new household loans increased by 0.04 percentage points to 4.5%. In June, the average interest rate on household mortgage loans rose by 0.04 percentage points to 4.36%, marking the highest level since November 2023. The average interest rate on non-mortgage household loans was 5.72%, up 0.23 percentage points from the previous month. The Bank of Korea stated that retail loan rates have continued to rise in recent months due to increasing market interest rates. Earlier this month, the Bank of Korea implemented its first rate hike in three and a half years. (Jin10)