Audit Board: "2020 National Debt 819 Trillion Won, 120 Trillion Won Increase from Previous Year"

Last Year Integrated Fiscal Balance Deficit of 71 Trillion Won, Deficit Expanded by 59 Trillion Won... Financial Statement Assets and Liabilities Error of 17.7 Trillion Won Confirmed

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Board of Audit and Inspection announced on the 31st that "the national debt for the 2020 fiscal year (central government basis) was 819.2 trillion won, an increase of 120.2 trillion won compared to 699 trillion won the previous year."

The Board of Audit and Inspection also stated that it submitted the government’s 2020 fiscal year national settlement audit report to the National Assembly on the same day. According to the Board, national assets were revised from 2,490.2 trillion won in the financial statements submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to 2,487.1 trillion won, and liabilities were revised from 1,985.3 trillion won to 1,981.7 trillion won, respectively.

The increase in national debt was mainly due to an increase in government bonds caused by deficit coverage (general account) of 102.8 trillion won and an increase of 8 trillion won in the foreign exchange stabilization fund deposits for stabilizing the foreign exchange market.

Last year, the income and expenditure of 68 funds amounted to 788.9 trillion won, an increase of 167.3 trillion won compared to 621.6 trillion won the previous year. The integrated fiscal balance was minus 71.2 trillion won, expanding the deficit by 59.2 trillion won compared to minus 12 trillion won the previous year. The managed fiscal balance was minus 112 trillion won, worsening by 57.6 trillion won compared to minus 54.4 trillion won the previous year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The ratio of national debt to GDP (central government basis) was 42.6%, an increase of 6.2 percentage points from 36.4% the previous year.

Additionally, the income and expenditure of 68 funds amounted to 788.9 trillion won, an increase of 167.3 trillion won compared to 621.6 trillion won the previous year. The Board of Audit and Inspection explained, "The integrated fiscal balance was minus 71.2 trillion won, expanding the deficit by 59.2 trillion won compared to minus 12 trillion won the previous year, and the managed fiscal balance was minus 112 trillion won, worsening by 57.6 trillion won compared to minus 54.4 trillion won the previous year."

As a result of auditing the financial statements and performance reports for the 2020 fiscal year, errors amounting to 17.7 trillion won in assets and liabilities (5.5 trillion won understated, 12.2 trillion won overstated) and 11.7 trillion won in fiscal operation results (5.8 trillion won understated, 5.9 trillion won overstated) were identified.

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated, "Upon examining the attached documents of the financial statements such as the National Property Management and Operation General Report, Goods Management and Operation Report, and Bond Current Amount Total Calculation Statement, national property and goods were understated by 1.2 trillion won and 800 million won respectively, while bonds were overstated by 1.1 billion won," adding, "Upon reviewing the performance reports, a total of 22 issues were identified regarding the validity of performance indicators, appropriateness of performance targets, and truthfulness of performance results."

Meanwhile, from May last year to April this year, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted settlement and regular audits on 122 institutions and performance, specific, and citizen proposal audits on 103 matters. The Board explained, "A total of 1,324 cases of illegal or improper matters were identified, and 561 recommendations and notifications were made for the government to improve system operations or reduce budgets."

Requests for disciplinary action and accountability related to misconduct amounted to 80 cases (142 people), and requests for prosecution and investigation were 11 cases (27 people).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.