S. Korea's fiscal deficit widens through November

South Korea's fiscal deficit widened 21 trillion won ($16.8 billion) in the first 11 months of last year due to increased expenditures amid the pandemic.

The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on a stricter term, posted a deficit of 98 trillion won in the January-November period, larger than a shortfall of 77 trillion won a year earlier, the finance ministry's Monthly Public Finance report showed.

The country's tax revenue came to 373.6 trillion won during the cited period, up 50.2 trillion won from a year earlier, on the back of a rise in income and corporate taxes.

It brought the total revenue to 571.6 trillion won for the first 11 months of 2022, up 47.7 trillion won from a year earlier.

The total expenditures, meanwhile, rose to 622.5 trillion won from 546.3 trillion won logged in the same period a year earlier due to the increased spending for the government's COVID-19 response.

Its debt came to 1,045.5 trillion won as of end-November, up 7.3 trillion won from a month earlier, the ministry said. (Yonhap)