National debt has grown 8.5-fold since 1997: report

South Korea's national debt has been rising much faster than the GDP (gross domestic product) growth since the late 1990s, the government reported Friday.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the national debt is estimated to reach 515.2 trillion won (US$478.4 billion) next year. The figure represents an 8.5-fold hike from 60.3 trillion won tallied in 1997 when a currency crisis hit Asian countries.

In 1998, the debt increased by 20.1 trillion won, compared with a rise of 37.9 trillion won in 2004 and 50.6 trillion won in 2008, the report said. It is expected to total 480.3 trillion won this year.

The nation's nominal GDP, on the other hand, is forecast to be 1,410 trillion won next year, which represents merely 2.8-fold increase from 506 trillion won in 1997, the report noted.

As a result, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to be 36.5 percent in 2014, up from 11.9 percent in 1997, the report said.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com