Korea's external debt down in 2023: BOK data
A bank manager holds $100 banknotes at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Seoul, Feb. 5. Yonhap
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 $663.6 billion as of end-December 2023, 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. (Yonhap)