South Korea's fiscal deficit widened during the first quarter of this year amid the prolonged economic slowdown, the finance ministry said Friday.

The consolidated fiscal account, which reflects the central government's total income and expenditure, posted 14.8 trillion won ($13.1 billion) in deficit during the January-March period, widening by 3.5 trillion won from a year earlier, the ministry said.

The growing deficit stems in part from decreased tax revenues affected by the slowing growth.

The fiscal account, excluding social security funds, also logged a deficit of 23.2 trillion won during the same period, a 1.5 trillion won increase from a year earlier.

The government continues its efforts to support economic growth by frontloading spending. South Korea's economy grew less than 1 percent for the past eight consecutive quarters.

The National Assembly recently approved a 17.3 trillion won extra budget to help jump-start the slowing economy. (Yonhap News)