President Yoon Suk Yeol said the previous government increased the national debt by more than 400 trillion won, or about 301 billion U.S. dollars, over its five-year term. This places a heavy burden on the current government, he added.

Yoon voiced his criticism of former President Moon Jae-in's government Tuesday while presiding over a Cabinet meeting on next year’s budget. 

While the cumulative national debt for the first 69 years of the nation’s history stood at 660 trillion won as of 2017, it had soared to one-thousand-76 trillion won just five years later, he continued.

He said the government needs to tighten its belt and make fiscal spending more efficient, arguing that the aging population will present significant difficulties down the road for the health insurance and national pension programs.

Yoon said the 2025 budget reflects a thorough reexamination of all fiscal projects, with cuts in unnecessary expenditures amounting to 24 trillion won.

Spending on research and development will increase by three-point-two trillion won to 29-point-seven trillion won next year, he added.

He vowed to invest more than 20 trillion won over the next five years to ensure access to essential health care services in all regions of the country.