Richest 10 percent hold 43 percent of assets in Korea

• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

In one episode of the popular reality TV show "I Live Alone," actor Kim Kwang-kyu sighs in front of an apartment building in southern Seoul's affluent Gangnam District. He had just searched the market price of his old apartment, where he had lived for six years before moving out.

"I was asked to buy this home for 1 billion won ($750,000). Now, the price has hiked to 2.5 billion won," Kim said in the episode aired last December. "I dared not borrow a large amount of money at that time, but I really should have."

Kim's case depicts the turbulent ups and downs in the real estate market during the past few years. This turbulence has only worsened asset polarization, a recent report showed.

According to the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), the richest 10 percent hold 43 percent of the nation's total net assets as of 2021.

The gap between the top and the lower classes has increased steadily for the past 10 years, recording more than 1.2 billion won in 2021. The bottom 20 percent income bracket holds average net assets worth 16.03 million won as of 2021, while the top 20 percent income bracket possesses average net assets worth 1.28 billion won, according to the report.

While the top 20 percent's average net assets increased by 4.2 billion won from 2012 to 2021, the bottom 20 percent's average net assets increased by only 5.12 million won. And widening the gap are the surging...