Per Capita National Debt to 'Surpass' 20 Million Won Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] South Korea's national debt is increasing at a rate of 3.05 million KRW per second. The national debt per capita has surpassed 17 million KRW and is expected to rise to the 20 million KRW range next year.

According to the 'National Debt Clock' by the National Assembly Budget Office on the 12th, the national debt, which combines central government debt and net local government debt, is currently increasing by approximately 3.05 million KRW every second.

The Budget Office predicted the debt increase speed based on this year's first supplementary budget (supplementary budget) national debt forecast and the central government debt status as of the end of February.

The total national debt (D1) was recorded at 912.5002305 trillion KRW as of 3:30 PM on the day.

The government initially projected the national debt at the end of this year to be 956 trillion KRW when preparing the main budget. With the first supplementary budget this year, the national debt increased to 965.9 trillion KRW.

At the current level of 912 trillion KRW, the national debt is increasing by 3.0543 million KRW per second, meaning it will exceed 950 trillion KRW this year.

South Korea's national debt was 60.3 trillion KRW in 1997 and has increased year by year. It was 24.5 trillion KRW in 1990 and surpassed 100 trillion KRW at 111.2 trillion KRW in 2000.

It then rose to 392.2 trillion KRW in 2010, 591.5 trillion KRW in 2015, and 723.2 trillion KRW in 2019, before swelling to 846.9 trillion KRW in 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Also, as of 3:30 PM on the day, the national debt per capita was calculated at 17.607627 million KRW. This figure is the total national debt divided by the resident registration population of 51.82 million as of the end of February.

The national debt per capita, calculated by dividing the national debt of the respective year by the Statistics Korea estimated population, steadily increased from 1.31 million KRW in 1997 to 2.37 million KRW in 2000, 5.14 million KRW in 2005, and 7.91 million KRW in 2010.

The national debt per capita first surpassed 10 million KRW in 2014. It increased to 10.51 million KRW that year, then recorded 11.59 million KRW in 2015 and 13.99 million KRW in 2019.

It then jumped to 16.36 million KRW in 2020 and surpassed 17 million KRW in June last year. It is expected to exceed 18 million KRW by the end of this year.

The government estimates that the national debt will surpass 1,000 trillion KRW at 1,091.2 trillion KRW next year, then increase to 1,217.1 trillion KRW in 2023 and 1,347.8 trillion KRW in 2024.

Dividing this by the Statistics Korea estimated population, the national debt per capita will exceed 20 million KRW at 21.05 million KRW next year, rising to 23.47 million KRW in 2023 and 25.98 million KRW in 2024.