Lawmakers of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly have called for tougher measures against 12 state-run enterprises whose debt has nearly doubled over the last five years.

In a report by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance submitted to the committee, the aggregate debt of 12 state-owned enterprises reached about 305.2 trillion won ($288.4 billion) at the end of last year, up from 158.6 trillion won in 2008.

Korea Land & Housing Corp. had the highest debt of about 100 trillion won, followed by Korea Electric Power Corp.’s 54.3 trillion won and Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.’s 45.5 trillion won.

The increase in the 12 state-run enterprises’ debt led them to pay a daily interest of some 21.4 billion won on average last year, according to the report.

The 12 firms are LH, KEPCO, KDIC, Korea National Oil Corp., Korea Gas Corp., Korea Coal Corp., Korea Resources Corp., Korea Water Resources Corp., Korea Expressway Corp., Korea Railroad, Korea Student Aid Foundation and Korea Rail Network Authority.

The Finance Ministry plans to closely look into their books and evaluate their short-term and long-term debt for public disclosure by the end of this month.

The Finance Ministry recently scolded heads of state-run enterprises for reckless management with excessive borrowing.

Deputy Prime Minister Hyun Oh-seok told the state-owned enterprises that “the party is over,” saying that the government will put a stop to their relentless greed for higher bonuses and salaries, and overleveraging.

Their increased debt was in part attributable to their aggressive expansion overseas and participation in infrastructure projects such as the four-river restoration project.

The government will also hold related government agencies responsible should they fail to properly oversee their companies and institutions that fall under their management jurisdiction.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)