Last Year, Public Institution Debt Increased by 87.6 Trillion Won... 'KEPCO and Gas Gong' Alone Up by 64.5 Trillion Won

Ministry of Economy and Finance Discloses Management Information of 347 Public Institutions
Debt Ratio Up 22.5%P Compared to Previous Year
9,000 Staff Reduced in Q1 This Year

Last year, the debt of 347 public institutions increased by approximately 88 trillion won. More than 73% of this debt was attributed to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS).

On the 28th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance disclosed the 2022 and first quarter 2023 management information of 347 public institutions through Alio, the public institution management information disclosure system.

According to the data, in 2022, public institutions recorded assets of 1,055 trillion won, liabilities of 670 trillion won, and a net loss of 13.6 trillion won. The debt ratio increased compared to the previous year, reaching 174.3%.

The asset size (1,055 trillion won) increased by 8.84 trillion won (9.1%) compared to the previous year due to the continuous expansion of facilities and investment assets of major public institutions.

The liability size (670 trillion won) increased by 87.6 trillion won (15.0%) year-on-year, mainly due to a 64.5 trillion won increase in the debt of KEPCO and KOGAS caused by rising raw material prices. KEPCO's debt surged by 47 trillion won from 145.8 trillion won in 2021 to 192.8 trillion won in 2022. KOGAS's debt increased by 17.5 trillion won from 34.5 trillion won to 52 trillion won during the same period.

As the debt size increased, the debt ratio rose by 22.5 percentage points from the previous year to 174.3%.

Overall, public institutions recorded a net loss of 13.6 trillion won. However, excluding KEPCO and KOGAS, they recorded a net profit of 9.3 trillion won. KEPCO experienced a net loss of 24.4 trillion won due to increased power purchase costs caused by rising fuel prices.

The total workforce last year was 445,000, an increase of about 6,600 compared to the previous year. This was due to the expansion of public hospital staff for COVID-19 response and the agreement on workforce increase from the second half of 2021 to early 2022 (6,476 people).

The adjustment of public institution workforce (-12,433 people) according to the 'Function Adjustment and Organization and Workforce Efficiency Plan' established at the end of last year is being gradually implemented from this year. Accordingly, the total workforce in the first quarter of this year was 436,000, about 9,000 fewer than at the end of 2022.

The number of new hires in public institutions in 2022 was 25,000, down from 27,000 in 2021.

Last year, the average salary of public institution heads and regular employees was 185 million won and 70 million won respectively, increasing at a rate similar to the 2022 civil servant wage increase rate (1.4%).

The number of childcare leave users is on the rise. It increased from 20,744 in 2021 to 23,892 in 2022. Among childcare leave users last year, 5,370 (22.5%) were men and 18,522 (77.5%) were women. The number of men increased by 1,682 (45.6%) compared to the previous year.