The outstanding amount of South Korea's state bonds is expected to exceed the 600 trillion-won ($517 billion) mark for the first time in 2016, a government report showed Sunday.

According to the report by the finance ministry, the amount of government debt outstanding is projected to reach 606.4 trillion won next year, up 50.2 trillion won from this year's estimate.

The outstanding value of government debt is likely to rise to 655.9 trillion won in 2017 and 697.4 trillion won in 2018 before breaking the 700 trillion-won mark to reach 729.4 trillion won in 2019, it said.

State bonds include Treasurys, national housing bonds and foreign exchange stabilization bonds.

According to the report, the outstanding amount of Treasurys, which account for roughly 90 percent of all state debt, is forecast to rise to 536.7 trillion won in 2016, 581.1 trillion won in 2017 and 617.6 trillion won in 2018.

The finance ministry said it is inevitable for the government to hike the amount of government bond issues in line with the increased role of fiscal policy in propping up the economy.

But the ministry said it will step up its control of overall state debt, though the country's debt level is lower than that of other countries.

The ratio of South Korea's state debt to its gross domestic product is estimated to stand at 38.5 percent this year and 40.1 percent next year. (Yonhap)