foreign debt-2023 tally

S. Korea's external debt down in 2023: BOK data

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's external debt decreased last year amid a fall in short-term debts, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The country's external liabilities had come to US$663.6 billion as of end-December, compared with $665.2 billion a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.

The data showed that a decline in short-term external borrowing offset a rise in long-term debt.

Of the total, the country's short-term debt that matures in a year declined by $30.3 billion on-quarter to $136.2 billion, while long-term debt rose $28.7 billion over the same period to $527.4 billion, the data showed.

The ratio of short-term debt to foreign reserves fell by 6.9 percentage points to 32.4 percent. A lower ratio means a stronger debt-serving capability.

The ratio of short-term debt to total external liabilities also declined 4.5 percentage points on-year to 20.5 percent, the lowest since 1994, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the country's net foreign financial assets stood at $779.9 billion at the end of last year, up $8.5 billion from a year ago and the highest ever on record.



sam@yna.co.kr

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