South Korea's national debt grew at the fastest pace last year due to the government's stimulus
policies to tackle the economic downturn, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday, citing official data.
According to the finance ministry, the nation's public debt totaled around 360 trillion won (319.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year, up 51
trillion won (45.3 billion U.S. dollars) from a year ago, which was the sharpest annual hike.
The debt account for 34 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) of the same year.
The national debt have nearly quadrupled since 1999 when the figure stood at 93.6 trillion won (83.1 billion U.S. dollars).
The rise in debt is mostly attributed to the government's fiscal measures to boost the sluggish economy, including tax cuts and other stimulus policies.