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Korea Herald
08-08-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Per capita national debt forecast to pass five times today's level by 2060
By the time today's young Korean adults in their 20s and 30s retire in 2060, each Korean citizen could be carrying a share of the national debt worth about 130 million won ($93,700). The projection comes from the National Assembly Budget Office, which released its long-term fiscal outlook on Thursday. The report was provided to Rep. Choi Eun-seok of the opposition People Power Party. NABO's estimate shows per capita national debt rising more than fivefold from 24.58 million won in 2025, calculated in constant prices. The figure includes both central and local government net debt, based on Statistics Korea's population projections, economic forecasts and fiscal data. A citizen's share of the state debt is expected to reach 31.65 million won in 2030, 86.13 million won in 2050, and 201.63 million won by 2072. For Koreans born between 1995 and 2000, the burden around retirement age is forecast to be around 130 million won. The reason is straightforward. Debt is climbing, but the number of people sharing it is shrinking. South Korea's total population is projected to fall from 51.68 million in 2025 to 36.22 million in 2072. Welfare spending will rise sharply as the population ages, widening the managed fiscal balance deficit — a key indicator that excludes social security surpluses — from 85.5 trillion won in 2025 to 270.7 trillion won in 2072. To cover these deficits, the report warns the government will have to issue more treasury bonds. That means higher debt levels for fewer taxpayers. Gap with global peers narrowing Government figures show general government debt passed 1,200 trillion won in 2023. The debt-to-GDP ratio hit 50.7 percent, the first time it has crossed the 50 percent mark. The International Monetary Fund's April 2025 Fiscal Monitor predicted the ratio would reach 54.5 percent this year. That would be higher than the average for advanced economies without reserve currencies, estimated at 54.3 percent. In 2016, Korea's ratio was 39.1 percent, well below the comparable average of 47.4 percent. The IMF now expects it to rise to 59.2 percent by 2030, the second-largest increase among non-reserve advanced economies after the Czech Republic.
Korea Herald
04-08-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Cancellation of treasury stocks, support for semiconductor industry
Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Choi Eun-seok (People Power Party) ● This bill would introduce shareholder rights plans (poison pills), allow the issuance of dual-class shares, introduce veto-right shares and codify the business judgment rule, to expand measures to defend corporate control. Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Commercial Act Proposed by Rep. Kim Hyun-jung (Democratic Party of Korea) ● This bill would mandate the immediate cancellation of treasury stocks upon acquisition and require treasury stocks acquired before the enforcement of this bill to be canceled within six months. Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Korea Development Bank Act Proposed by Rep. Kang Min-kuk (People Power Party) and Rep. Kang Jun-hyeon (Democratic Party of Korea) ● This bill would strengthen support for semiconductors and other high-tech strategic industries by establishing the High-tech Strategic Industry Fund, with a planned scale of 50 trillion won ($36 billion). Promulgated Bill: Telecommunications Business Act Competent Authority: Ministry of Science and ICT ● With the repeal of the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act, mobile carriers are no longer required to disclose mobile device subsidies publicly, and the cap on additional subsidies, which was previously limited to 15 percent of the publicly disclosed subsidies, is also removed. The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. — Ed.
Korea Herald
04-03-2025
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
Enhancing bank services, safety measure for electric cars
The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. -- Ed. Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Insurance Business Act Proposed by Rep. Cha Gyu-geun (Rebuilding Korea Party) ● This amendment mandates that stocks issued by affiliates of an insurance company and held by the company be valued at market prices rather than acquisition costs. It also sets a cap on the total value of these holdings, limiting them to 3 percent of the company's total assets. Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Banking Act Proposed by Rep. Choi Eun-seok (People Power Party) ● To improve access to financial services in rural areas and enhance user convenience, this amendment permits non-financial institutions, such as post offices, to offer bank agency services. Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act Proposed by Rep. Yoon Han-hong (People Power Party) ● This amendment clarifies the duty of directors to protect shareholder interests by specifying that in the event of a merger, an essential business or an asset transfer, an all-inclusive stock swap or transfer, or a split or split and merger, the board of directors must make every effort to protect shareholders' legitimate interests. Competent authority: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ● To address growing concerns about fire-related accidents involving electric cars, this bill requires domestic electric car manufacturers to obtain government safety certification for the batteries used in their vehicles before launching them on the market. ● To address a personnel shortage in the electrical construction industry, this amendment relaxes the requirements for intermediate electrical construction engineers by recognizing individuals without formal educational qualifications in the field but who have specialized work experience and expertise in electrical construction as qualified for the position of intermediate electrical construction engineers.
