Government Borrowed 117 Trillion Won from Bank of Korea Last Year

Interest Payments to BOK Total 150.6 Billion
Both Lump-Sum Loans and Interest Reach Record Highs

The government borrowed more than 117 trillion won from the Bank of Korea last year.

According to the 'Details of Temporary Government Loans and Interest Amounts' data submitted by the Bank of Korea to Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee (Democratic Party), the cumulative amount of temporary loans taken by the government from the Bank of Korea last year totaled 117.6 trillion won.

The government paid 150.6 billion won in interest to the Bank of Korea last year alone. Both the temporary loan amount and the interest amount set record highs on an annual basis.

The Bank of Korea's temporary government loan system is a means used by the government to cover temporary cash shortages arising from timing differences between revenue and expenditure during the fiscal year. It operates on a principle similar to a personal overdraft (credit limit loan) account.

As of the end of last year, the government's outstanding temporary loan balance with the Bank of Korea was 4 trillion won. It is reported that the government repaid the entire loan balance earlier this month.

The fact that the government used the Bank of Korea's overdraft account at the largest scale ever last year is interpreted as indicating frequent urgent use of funds due to insufficient tax revenue.

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