SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s public account deficit soared to a record high in 2022 due to an increase in COVID-19 aid to small merchants and a rise in commodity prices, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The shortfall came to 95.8 trillion won (US$72 billion) last year, the highest since the country started tracking the data in 2007, the BOK’s preliminary data showed Wednesday.
The deficit surged from 27.3 trillion won tallied in 2021. Government spending on grants and subsidies for people affected by the pandemic, including mom-and-pop stores, and a jump in public firms’ production costs due to a surge in energy prices were cited as the main contributors.
The public sector’s total income rose 11 percent to 471.1 trillion won, but total spending was higher at 551.8 trillion won. Public companies reported an income of 222.8 trillion won and an expenditure of 286.7 trillion won.
nyway@yna.co.kr
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