- South Korea's public account deficit narrowed last year from a year earlier on the back of a rise in collections of social insurance premiums, such as the national pension, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's public account shortfall came to 46.4 trillion won (US$34.8 billion) last year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The shortfall narrowed from a deficit of 58.7 trillion won tallied a year earlier. The public sector's total spending fell 2 percent on-year to 1,153 trillion won, while its total income also slipped 1 percent to 1,106 trillion won over the cited period, according to the data. The BOK said the increase in the collection of social insurance offset a fall in tax revenu Source: Yonhap News Agency