S. Korea’s Fiscal Deficit Expands Amidst Slow Corporate Growth

SEOUL: South Korea's fiscal deficit significantly increased in the first ten months of 2024 compared to the previous year, partly attributed to underwhelming corporate performance, according to the finance ministry on Thursday.According to Yonhap News Agency, the managed fiscal balance-a critical measure of fiscal health calculated using stricter criteria-recorded a deficit of 75.7 trillion won (US$52.9 billion) from January to October. This figure represents a notable increase from the 52.2 trillion won deficit observed in the same period last year.Throughout the cited period, total tax revenue rose by 6.2 trillion won, reaching 498.7 trillion won. However, this increase was overshadowed by a surge in total expenditures, which climbed by 26.3 trillion won to 529.1 trillion won.Meanwhile, the government's debt reached 1,155.5 trillion won by the end of October, marking an increase of 5.9 trillion won from the previous month.