As of the end of April this year, Korea's fiscal deficit was tallied at 46.1 trillion won. Although it improved by 18.5 trillion won compared to the same period last year, it is the third largest deficit on record.
According to the June issue of the Monthly Fiscal Trends published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 12th, the cumulative total revenue as of the end of April was 231.1 trillion won, an increase of 17.7 trillion won from the same period last year.
The increase was mainly due to a rise in national tax revenues, centered on corporate taxes, which grew by 16.6 trillion won during the same period. Income tax increased by 3.5 trillion won.
Non-tax revenue was tallied at 15.1 trillion won, an increase of 4 trillion won from the same period last year. However, fund revenue amounted to 73.7 trillion won, a decrease of 2.9 trillion won compared to a year ago.
The cumulative total expenditure as of the end of April was 262.3 trillion won, an increase of 1.9 trillion won from the same period last year.
The consolidated fiscal balance, which is total revenue minus total expenditure, showed a deficit of 31.2 trillion won. Excluding the 11.3 trillion won surplus from social security funds like the national pension from the consolidated fiscal balance, the consolidated fiscal balance without social security fund shows a deficit of 46.1 trillion won.
Korea's national debt is gradually increasing. The central government debt amounted to 1,197.8 trillion won as of the end of April. This is an increase of 56.6 trillion won compared to the settlement of account at the end of last year.
The issuance scale of Government Bonds in May was 19 trillion won. The procurement interest rate for May fell to 2.47% compared to the previous month. The bid-to-cover ratio was 256%.
The issuance of Government Bonds from January to May amounted to 100.2 trillion won, which is 48.4% of the annual total issuance limit. When including government bonds for personal investment, it amounts to 100.7 trillion won.