South Korea's tax revenues reach $23.2 billion in May 2025

South Korea's tax revenues rose by nearly 19% in May compared to the previous year, driven by higher income and a recent rally in the stock market.

According to government data cited by Yonhap News Agency, the government collected 35.8 trillion won ($23.2 billion) last month, compared with 30.1 trillion won in the same period the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry attributed the sharp increase to a rise in income tax collections, which reached 22 trillion won in May — up 16.5% year-on-year — bolstered by gains from overseas securities transactions and real estate transactions.

South Korea also collected 1.3 trillion won in securities transaction taxes in May, a significant jump from just 300 billion won in the same month last year.

Corporate tax revenues climbed 9.6% year-on-year to reach 7.6 trillion won in May, amid improving earnings reports. For the period from January to May, total tax revenues amounted to 199.9 trillion won, an increase of 16% over the previous year.