February National Budget Deficit of 17.9 Trillion Won... Improved by 18.4 Trillion Won Compared to Previous Year

April Issue of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Monthly Fiscal Trends

As of February this year, the managed fiscal balance deficit has slightly improved. Revenues increased and expenditures decreased compared to the previous year, resulting in a better fiscal balance.

According to the "Monthly Fiscal Trends April Issue" published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 10th, the cumulative managed fiscal balance deficit as of the end of February this year was 17.9 trillion won. This represents an improvement of 18.4 trillion won compared to the same period last year. The managed fiscal balance excludes the four major social security funds (National Pension, Private School Teachers' Pension, Industrial Accident Insurance, Employment Insurance) from the integrated fiscal balance, showing the government's net fiscal situation. Together with the integrated fiscal balance, it provides a comprehensive view of the nation's finances.

The improvement in the managed fiscal balance was due to total expenditures decreasing by 10.6 trillion won from the same period last year, recording 116.7 trillion won. Budget expenditures decreased by 5.9 trillion won, and fund expenditures decreased by 4.6 trillion won. The total expenditure execution rate compared to the budget was 17.3%, which is 2.0 percentage points lower than last year. Since monthly statistics began in 2014, this is the fourth lowest execution rate for February on record.

Hwang Hee-jung, Director of Fiscal Soundness at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, explained, "The cumulative number of business days until February was 38, fewer than last year's 41 days, and the change in the business method of the Housing Management Fund led to a decrease in expenditure scale." The integrated fiscal balance, which is total revenue minus total expenditure, showed a deficit of 13.7 trillion won. This is an improvement of 16.2 trillion won compared to the same month last year.

Total revenue as of the end of February reached 103 trillion won, an increase of 5.8 trillion won compared to the same period last year. National tax revenue was 61 trillion won, up 2.9 trillion won from the same month last year. Due to expanded performance bonus payments and increased housing transactions, income tax and capital gains tax increased, with income tax rising by 2.7 trillion won to 26.8 trillion won compared to the same month last year. Corporate tax also increased by 700 billion won to 4.2 trillion won due to increased interest and dividend income.

Non-tax revenue also recorded 9.2 trillion won, increasing by 3.7 trillion won during the same period. Director Hwang explained, "The surplus of the Bank of Korea increased by 5.4 trillion won compared to last year, which had a significant impact." The Bank of Korea annually allocates 30% of its net profit to statutory reserves, treats part as discretionary reserves, and pays the remainder to the government.

As of the end of February, central government debt stood at 1,180.5 trillion won, increasing by 21.4 trillion won compared to the previous month. The issuance scale of government bonds in March is 20.7 trillion won. Foreign investment in government bonds saw a net inflow of 700 billion won.

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