Board of Audit and Inspection Submits Settlement Report to National Assembly... National Debt Exceeds 1,000 Trillion Won

National Debt Growth Slows... 82 Trillion Won Spent Only to Cover General Account Deficit
National Debt-to-GDP Ratio at 48.1%... Up 2.8 Percentage Points from Previous Year

Last year, the national debt (based on the central government) exceeded 1,000 trillion won for the first time in history. It increased by 94 trillion won compared to the previous year, and the national debt-to-GDP ratio also rose by 2.8 percentage points to 48.1%.

The Board of Audit and Inspection announced that it inspected the '2022 Fiscal Year Settlement Report' and submitted the 'National Settlement Inspection Report,' which highlights these results, to the National Assembly on the 31st.

Trends in National Debt by Year [Data Provided by the Board of Audit and Inspection]

According to the national settlement report, last year the central government's national debt totaled 1,033.4 trillion won, an increase of 94.3 trillion won compared to the previous year. Although the increase was somewhat lower than the 120.2 trillion won increase in 2020 and the 119.9 trillion won increase in 2021, it was the first time the national debt exceeded 1,000 trillion won. The Board of Audit and Inspection cited the reasons for the increase in national debt as 82.6 trillion won used to cover the general account deficit and 16.3 trillion won invested in support for housing funds for low-income households.

The national debt-to-GDP ratio rose by 2.8 percentage points to 48.1%. Among the national debt, deficit-type debt that must be repaid with taxes amounted to 642.1 trillion won (62.1%), and financial debt backed by corresponding assets was 391.3 trillion won (37.9%).

The integrated fiscal balance, which indicates government fiscal activity performance, recorded a deficit of 64.6 trillion won, expanding the deficit by 34.1 trillion won compared to the previous year. The managed fiscal balance, which excludes social security fund balances from the integrated fiscal balance, also showed a deficit of 117 trillion won, increasing the deficit by 26.4 trillion won compared to the previous year.

During the financial statement inspection, some calculation errors were identified. After correcting the errors, total national assets amounted to 2,833.6 trillion won, which is 2.7 trillion won less than before the inspection, and liabilities totaled 2,326 trillion won, a decrease of 200 billion won compared to before the inspection. Net assets, calculated by subtracting liabilities from assets, stood at 507.6 trillion won.

Meanwhile, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted settlement and regular audits on 169 institutions last year and performed performance, special, and public proposal audits on 115 matters. From May 1 of last year to the end of last month, the Board identified and addressed 2,060 cases of illegal or improper matters. Among these, 908 cases were judged for compensation or required correction, disciplinary action, or accountability, while 1,152 cases were recommended or notified to relevant agencies to prepare institutional improvement measures.

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