SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's annual government budget would grow 3.2 percent next year, the finance ministry said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance proposed its 2025 budget at 677.4 trillion won (509.7 billion U.S. dollars), up compared to this year's budget of 656.6 trillion won (494 billion dollars), marking a faster growth than this year's budget growth of 2.8 percent.

The budget proposal, endorsed at the cabinet meeting, was set to be submitted to the parliament for approval.

Next year's budget for health, welfare, and employment gained 4.8 percent to 249 trillion won (187.3 billion dollars), and education budget climbed 3.5 percent to 98.5 trillion won (74.1 billion dollars).

Defense budget rose 3.6 percent to 61.6 trillion won (46.3 billion dollars), and budget for research and development (R&D) increased 11.8 percent to 29.7 trillion won (22.3 billion dollars).

The managed fiscal balance, which excludes social security funds, was estimated at a deficit of 77.7 trillion won (58.5 billion dollars) in 2025, down from an estimated deficit of 91.6 trillion won (68.9 billion dollars) in 2024.

Next year's government debt would reach 48.3 percent of the gross domestic product, up from this year's estimated 47.4 percent. Enditem

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