The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Dec. 15 that South Korea’s public-sector debt increased from 1,280 trillion won to an all-time high of 1,427.3 trillion won in 2021.
The amount, which is the sum of central government, local government, and public enterprise debts, was slightly over 1,000 trillion won in 2017.
The public-sector debt-to-GDP ratio of South Korea amounted to 68.9 percent last year. The government debt was 1,066.2 trillion won to top 1,000 trillion won for the first time in history.
Likewise, the government debt-to-GDP ratio, 51.5 percent, topped 50 percent for the first time. The central government debt alone increased by no less than 110.4 trillion won last year.
