SEJONG -- Debt held by the self-employed grew 4.7 percent in 2018, as their income fell amid the economic slowdown, raising concerns about their capacity to service debt, data showed Thursday. Average bank loans extended to a self-employed person amounted to 164 million won ($144,000) as of end-2018, compared with 156 million won a year ago, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. Banks have increased loans to the self-employed as the financial regulator is seeking to curb the gr