Seoul, Jan 7 (IANS) The government borrowed the second-largest amount of temporary funds on record from the central bank last year through its overdraft facility, data showed on Wednesday.

According to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) submitted to Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, the government’s temporary borrowings from the BOK totalled 164.5 trillion won (US$113.65 billion) in 2025, including 5 trillion won drawn in December.

The figure was slightly lower than the record 173 trillion won posted in 2024, reports Yonhap news agency.

In detail, the government borrowed 88.6 trillion won in the first half of 2025, as the country was reeling from political turmoil following the martial law declaration in December 2024, and another 75.9 trillion won in the second half.

The government, accordingly, paid 158.09 billion won in interest to the BOK last year, the second-highest annual interest payment on record, following 209.28 billion won in 2024, the data showed.

The overdraft facility allows the government to temporarily borrow funds from the central bank to cover short-term mismatches between revenue and spending.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday that portions of last year’s defence budget that were not disbursed by the end of 2025 will be executed as swiftly as possible.

The announcement came amid controversy over the failure to pay about 1.3 trillion won (US$899 million) in defence-related expenditures to military units and defence contractors by the end of last year.

“Among the 2025 expenditure budget items, spending that could not be executed will be carried out as quickly as possible within this week,” the ministry said in a press release.

The ministry added that it is holding consultations with the defence ministry and other relevant ministries based on what is known as “January revenue.”

The term refers to tax and other revenue for the 2025 fiscal year that is legally deposited into the state treasury by the second business day of 2026, which fell on Monday.

—IANS

na/