Spending by South Korea's public sector jumped 46 percent in 2012 compared with five years earlier, with its total accounting for nearly half of the country's nominal gross domestic product (GDP), the central bank said Thursday. The public sector, which includes the central and provincial governments, and state-run companies, spent a combined 671.9 trillion won (US$635.2 billion) in 2012, compared with 460.1 trillion won in 2007, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).