Korea’s Jan.-Nov. fiscal deficit widens to third-largest on record

(Na Hyun-jun)

The South Korean government’s fiscal balance posted a deficit of nearly 90 trillion won ($61.2 billion) through November 2025, marking the third-largest shortfall on record for the same period.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Planning and Budget on Thursday, total government revenue stood at 581.2 trillion won as of the end of November last year, up 39.2 trillion won from the same period a year earlier.

Of this amount, national tax revenue reached 353.6 trillion won, an increase of 37.9 trillion won.

By category, corporate tax revenue rose by 22.2 trillion won and income tax revenue increased by 12.3 trillion won.

Non-tax revenue increased by 2.3 trillion won, while fund revenue declined by 800 billion won.

Total expenditure, on the other hand, came to 624.4 trillion won over the same period, up 54.3 trillion won from a year earlier, the report showed.

As a result, the consolidated fiscal balance – total revenue minus total expenditure – posted a deficit of 43.3 trillion won.

The managed fiscal balance, which excludes the four major social security funds such as the National Pension Fund from the consolidated fiscal balance, recorded a deficit of 89.6 trillion won.

As of November, this is the third-largest deficit on record, following 2020 (98.3 trillion won) and 2022 (98 trillion won). Compared with the same period a year earlier, the deficit widened by 8.3 trillion won.

Central government debt stood at 1,289.4 trillion won at the end of November, up 14.1 trillion won in a single month and approaching the 1,300 trillion won mark.

Meanwhile, the issuance of treasury bonds in December totaled 5.4 trillion won.

Short-term treasury bond yields declined amid expectations of a U.S. policy rate cut and rising long-term bond yields in Japan, while long-term yields showed an upward trend.

The cumulative treasury bond issuance from January through December last year reached 226.2 trillion won, filling 97.9 percent of the annual issuance ceiling, the report showed.