South Korea's managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on a stricter term, posted a deficit in late May that grew by seven trillion won on-month.

According to data from the finance ministry on Thursday, the managed fiscal balance as of late May recorded a deficit of 52-point-five trillion won, or around 41 billion U.S. dollars.

The year's cumulative deficit, which stood at 54 trillion won in March, dropped to 45-point-four trillion won in April before expanding the following month. The total as of May is nearly 90 percent of the government's deficit projection of 58-point-two trillion won for the entire year.

Total revenue in the first five months of the year fell 37 trillion won from a year earlier, due largely to a reduction in national tax revenue, which dropped 36-point-four trillion won on-year.

Total expenditure from January through May also fell 55-point-one trillion won on-year with the completion of state pandemic programs.

Government debt, meanwhile, rose 16 trillion won on-month to one quadrillion-09 trillion won.