South Korea's fiscal deficit rose more than 40 percent on-year during the first five months of 2024 amid weak corporate performances and growing state expenditures, the finance ministry said Thursday. The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on a stricter term, posted a deficit of 74.4 trillion won (US$53.82 billion) in the January-May period, larger than the shortfall of 52.5 trillion won a year earlier, according to the finance ministry. This year's tally was the second-largest figure ever for any cited period. The shortfall hit an all-time high of 77.9 trillion won in 2020 due to the government's cash handouts for people hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The total revenue went up by 1.6 trillion won on-year to 258.2 trillion during the January-May period this year, led by the increase in non-tax income. But tax revenue fell 6.3 percent to 151 trillion won due to the sharp fall in the government's collection of corporate taxes on their weak performances. Total expenditures went u p by 23 trillion won on-year to 310.4 trillion won as the government spent more on various welfare programs, according to the ministry. The government's debt reached 1,146.8 trillion won as of end-May, up 17.9 trillion won from a month earlier, the data showed. Source: Yonhap News Agency