06.04.202604:31:41UTC+00South Korea Debt-to-GDP Ratio Rises to 49% in 2025

South Korea’s national debt surpassed 1,300 trillion won (US$861.2 billion) last year, with the debt-to-GDP ratio rising to 49%, up from 46% a year earlier but still below the record 50.4% logged in 2023, the finance ministry said Monday, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Sovereign debt, which includes bond issuance and financial borrowing by central and provincial governments, reached 1,304.5 trillion won as of end-2025, an increase of 129.4 trillion won from a year earlier. Of that total, central government debt climbed by 127 trillion won to 1,268.1 trillion won, while local government debt came to 36.4 trillion won.

“There may be concerns over the absolute scale of the national debt, but the economy faced simultaneous internal and external shocks last year, including weakened domestic demand following the declaration of emergency martial law and rapidly changing global trade conditions,” Hwang Soon-kywan, a senior ministry official, told reporters.