S. Korea’s Fiscal Deficit Increases in First 9 Months of 2022

Seoul, November 17 (QNA) – South Korea’s fiscal deficit widened 17.1 trillion won about (US$12.8 billion) in the first nine months of 2022 compared to a year earlier as the country spent more on supporting vulnerable people amid the prolonged pandemic.

The Korean Ministry of Finance said in a statement that the fiscal balance recorded a deficit of 91.8 trillion won in the January-September period, larger than a shortfall of 74.7 trillion won a year earlier.

The country’s tax revenue came to 317.6 trillion won, up 43.1 trillion won from a year earlier, on the back of robust gains in corporate taxes and income taxes.

But the total expenditure over the nine months came to 536 trillion won, up 64 trillion won from a year earlier, due to the increased spending on pandemic-hit small merchants and other vulnerable groups. (QNA)