Overview
- The Finance Ministry's 2025 settlement report, released Sunday, put national debt at 1,304.5 trillion won and the debt ratio at 49%, up three points on the year.
- Under the five-year fiscal plan, debt is set to rise by about 121 trillion won a year with the ratio projected at 51.6% in 2026, 53.8% in 2027, 56.2% in 2028, and 58.0% in 2029, placing it near 60% in 2030.
- The National Assembly approved a 26.2 trillion won supplementary budget on Friday, and updated estimates now put this year’s managed deficit at 107.6 trillion won (3.8% of GDP) and year-end debt at 1,412.8 trillion won with a 50.6% ratio.
- Major outlooks turned softer as the OECD cut its 2026 growth forecast to 1.7% and the Bank of Korea signaled sub-2% growth, a mix that can push the ratio higher because GDP expands more slowly while borrowing stays high.
- The IMF projects a 64.3% ratio by 2030, and the third year with debt rising by more than 100 trillion won since the pandemic points to a faster trend that could strain future budgets as the population ages.