South Korea posts $33.6B fiscal deficit in 1st four months of 2025, marks 3rd largest on record
Finance Ministry warns upcoming budgets may deepen shortfall
Taiwan, Asia stock markets rebound after Donald Trump paused global tariffs
ANKARA
South Korea’s fiscal deficit rose to over 46 trillion won ($33.6 billion) during the first four months of 2025, marking the third-largest shortfall ever recorded for the January-April period, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported Thursday, citing the country’s Finance Ministry.
The managed fiscal balance recorded a shortfall of 46.1 trillion won ($33.75 billion), representing a slight improvement from the same period last year, though still placing among the highest deficits for the first four months of any year.
The Finance Ministry noted that the figures do not include the supplementary budget passed in May. It also warned that further supplementary budgets planned later in the year could deepen the deficit even more.
As of the end of April, the central government’s total debt reached 1,197.8 trillion won, an increase of 22 trillion won from the previous month.
