SEOUL: South Korea’s fiscal deficit reached an all-time high in the first three months of 2024 due to rising expenditures aimed at buttressing an economic recovery, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing data from the finance ministry.

The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on a stricter term, posted a deficit of 75.3 trillion won ($55.07 billion) in the January-March period, up from the previous year’s 54 trillion won, the finance ministry said in its monthly public finance report.

This year’s figure was the largest for any three-month tally since the ministry began compiling the data in 2014.

Source: Emirates News Agency