Debt ratio among South Korea's 295 public agencies topped 200 percent last year, boosting worries about over-indebtedness among the state-run agencies, finance ministry data showed Tuesday.

The debt-to-equity ratio for public agencies averaged 207.5 percent as of the end of 2012, up from 193.7 percent in the prior year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

The debt ratio continued to rise from 133.1 percent in 2008 to 162.9 percent in 2010, breaching the 200-percent level in 2012. The public agencies include 30 public corporations, 87 quasi- governmental agencies and other 178 public institutions.

The debt ratio for public corporations rose from 126.7 percent in 2008 to 207.6 percent in 2012, with the reading for quasi- government agencies advancing from 169.3 percent to 247.7 percent over the same period. The figure for other institutions fell from 70.8 percent to 66.9 percent.

Combined debts among public agencies increased 7.5 percent from a year earlier to 493.4 trillion won ($447.94 billion) as of the end of 2012.

South Korea's sovereign debts were estimated to increase from 480.4 trillion won in 2013 to 524.3 trillion won in 2016, according to the April 19 report submitted by the ministry to the National Assembly.

The figures were revised up from an earlier forecast of 464.6 trillion won in 2013 and 487.5 trillion won in 2016 following the announcement of the 2013 supplementary budget worth 17.3 trillion won.

To finance the extra budget, the ministry planned to sell 15.9 trillion won in government bonds this year. The rise in bond sales was expected to raise market interest rates by 20-30 basis points, according to the ministry's estimate.