SEOUL, May 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign debts increased in the first quarter as short- and long-term debts rose together, central bank data showed on Wednesday.
External liabilities amounted to 405.7 billion U.S. dollars as of end-March, up 24.7 billion dollars from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Debts that mature in less than a year rose 10.2 billion dollars to 115.4 billion dollars, accounting for 28.4 percent of the total liabilities.
Long-term foreign debts gained 14.5 billion dollars during the January-March quarter.
The short-term debts, composed mainly of corporate debts and bank loans, can lead to an abrupt foreign capital outflow when the global financial market volatility increases.
The ratio of short-term foreign debts to foreign currency reserves was 30.7 percent as of end-March, up 2.4 percentage points from three months earlier. The rise indicated higher risks for the country's foreign debts.
The Finance Ministry said in a separate statement that the country's external soundness and the debt-servicing capability stayed in a stable level.
The ministry said it needed to closely watch external conditions given the remaining uncertainties such as the U.S. interest rate hike and the Trump administration's policy direction.
