The government, experiencing a shortage of tax revenue, has borrowed a total of 152.6 trillion won from the Bank of Korea up to the third quarter of this year.
According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea to Im Kwang-hyun, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of the end of the third quarter this year, the outstanding balance of temporary loans borrowed from the Bank of Korea by the government and not yet repaid amounted to 10.5 trillion won.
During the third quarter, the government borrowed a total of 152.6 trillion won and repaid 142.1 trillion won. The cumulative loan amount this year is the largest record in 14 years since the statistics have been available from 2011.
The number of temporary borrowings up to the end of the third quarter this year also reached 75 times, surpassing last year's 64 times.
The Bank of Korea's temporary loan system to the government is a method used to cover temporary cash shortages caused by timing differences between government revenue and expenditure during the fiscal year.
It is similar to an individual opening a negative balance account (credit limit loan) at a bank and replenishing funds as needed.
This year, tax revenue has significantly decreased compared to last year due to worsening corporate performance and other factors. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, national tax revenue up to August this year has decreased by more than 9 trillion won compared to last year, due to a decline in corporate tax and other factors.
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