Korea's short-term debt up 0.8% in 2016

The figure accounted for 27.6 percent of the country's total external debt, up 1.3 percentage point from the end of 2015, the data showed.

The nation's total external liability reached $380.9 billion at the end of 2016, down $15.1 billion over the cited period.

The ratio of short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves stood at 28.3 percent at the end of 2016, unchanged from the end of 2015.

South Korea's short-term foreign debt, which refers to external debt with a maturity of less than one year, was an area of concern during past financial turmoil as a sharp rise in foreign debt left lenders vulnerable to external shocks.

The ratio had sharply surged during the global financial crisis, hitting 79.3 percent in the third quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, South Korea's net foreign direct investment and assets reached a record $278.5 billion as of the end of 2016, up $74 billion from a year earlier, the data showed.

The country's assets invested overseas reached $1.239 trillion at the end of 2016, up $95.8 billion from a year earlier.

Foreign investors' investment in the country, including stocks and bonds, came to $961.2 billion at the end of 2016, up $21.7 billion from a year earlier, according to the data. (Yonhap)