More than 8 out of 10 people who filed for bankruptcy in Seoul last year were in their 50s and older, with many of them found to be male and people living alone, data showed.

Of the 1,361 valid applications filed with the Seoul Financial Welfare Counseling Center last year, 86 percent were from those in their 50s or older, and 83.5 percent were recipients of basic living allowances from the government, according to survey results from the center.

Of them, 64.4 percent were male, while single-person households took up the biggest chunk at 63.5 percent.

The respondents picked insufficient living expenses as the reason for their debt, recording 48.8 percent, followed by business management failure at 21.5 percent, while 13.2 percent said they were victims of fraud or loan guarantees.

The majority, or 89.1 percent of applicants, said they were unemployed, and 85.1 percent were living in rental housing, the same data showed. (Yonhap)