Last year, local public corporations' liability jumped more than 5 trillion won from a year earlier to 75 trillion won. Over the same period, net losses increased by 840.3 billion won.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 2nd the 2025 settlement of account results for a total of 421 local public corporations, including 254 directly operated corporations such as water and sewage, 78 local public corporations, and 89 public agencies.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), local public corporations' asset last year was 255.8 trillion won, up 3.5% from a year earlier. During the same period, the workforce was 106,699, an increase of 2.6%.
Liability was 75 trillion won, up 7.5% from a year earlier. As a result, the liability ratio rose to 41.4%. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said, "It was analyzed that increases in borrowing fund and long-term lease deposits at metropolitan area development corporations due to new town construction were the main factors."
Last year, public corporations' net losses totaled 3.5216 trillion won, up 31.3% from a year earlier. It was analyzed as the impact of keeping the fare adjustment rate—meaning the ratio of unit fares to unit costs—low due to freezes on fees for water and sewage and urban rail corporations to stabilize prices.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) evaluated various financial indicators based on settlement of account data from the past three years and designated a total of 102 institutions as liability-focused management institutions. Of these, 28 institutions with high financial risk were designated as liability reduction target institutions.
Liability-focused management institutions must establish and disclose a five-year financial liability management plan that includes measures to reduce liability and improve profitability.
Song Kyung-ju, head of the local government finance and economy office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), said, "Even under challenging fiscal conditions, we will actively support efforts to enhance fiscal soundness through sound management and to provide residents with stable, high-quality public services."