'Unexecuted' budget falls to 5.4 tril. won in 2025, lowest in 4 years

The Ministry of Economy and Finance at the Government Complex Sejong / Yonhap

Unexecuted spending in South Korea's annual budget totaled 5.4 trillion won ($3.7 billion) last year, the smallest amount in four years, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

Excluding internal transactions, the "practical unexecuted" amount came to 5.4 trillion won in 2025, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The figure is down 3.9 trillion won from 9.3 trillion won the previous year and is the lowest since 2021, when it totaled 5.2 trillion won.

The ministry attributed the decline to spending adjustments made following supplementary budgets that reflected changes in the economy.

"Despite domestic and international uncertainties last year, the government actively managed finances through two supplementary budgets and swift execution, greatly supporting economic recovery," a ministry official said.

Separately, final accounting for last year's revenues and expenditures showed that only about 100 billion won would be available for this year's supplementary budget.

Despite the government's insistence that it is not considering a supplementary budget, financial markets speculate that one could be approved before the June 3 local elections.

If the government does move forward with a supplementary budget in the first half of the year, it is likely to rely primarily on this year's excess tax revenues.