The government's 2024 budget bill is passed during a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
South Korea's fiscal deficit is projected to rise to nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year, the finance ministry said Thursday.
The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on stricter terms, is expected to post a deficit of 91.6 trillion won ($70.19 billion) in 2024, or 3.9 percent of the country's GDP, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The amount was 400 billion won smaller than what the government expected earlier, as the National Assembly on Thursday passed next year's national budget of 656.6 trillion won after slashing around 300 billion won from the government's initial proposal.
It marked the second year that the budget was cut by the parliament.
The government has vowed to enforce tighter fiscal rules, which call for a cap on the deficit to 3 percent of the country's GDP to improve the country's financial soundness following years of expansionary fiscal spending.
During the first 10 months of this year, the country reported a deficit of 52.2 trillion won.
The national debt is expected to come to 1,195.8 trillion won next year, up by around 61.4 trillion won from this year's 1,134.4 trillion won.
In 2024, total revenue is expected to amount to 612.2 trillion won next year, down 2.2 percent on-year, while total expenditures will rise 2.8 percent to come to 656.6 trillion won, according to the ministry.
Compared with the government's proposal, the final package allocated 600 billion won more for research and development projects, and 700 billion won for industry and energy projects.
But the National Assembly slashed 800 billion won of the budget for administrative affairs and reduced 200 billion won of the proposed budget for diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs. (Yonhap)
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