Top 0.1 % of wealthy S Koreans made 70 times more than median income earners in 2021
The top 0.1 % of wealthy individuals in South Korea earned nearly 70 times more than the median income earners in 2021, data showed Saturday.
Statistics from the National Tax Service cited by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the opposition Democratic Party also showed the share of the total income held by the top bracket had increased to 4.8 % that year from 4.2 % in 2018.
The per capita annual income of the richest 0.1 % was 1.85 billion won (US$1.4 million) in 2021, 69.5 times more than the 26.6 million won earned by those in the middle of the income bracket.
The ratio continued to increase, rising from 61 times in 2018 to 60.4 times in 2019 and 64.7 times in 2020.
On average, the annual income of the top 1 % was tallied at 470 million won, 17.7 times that of median income earners, while the top 10 % earned an average of 146.4 million won, 5.5 times more than median income earners.
The data showed the fortunes of the richest increased between 2018 and 2021. Over the period, the annual per capita income of the top 0.1 % and top 1 % grew by an average of 126.13 million won and 24.65 million won, respectively, every year.
The share of the total income held by the wealthiest also grew over the period.
In 2021, the richest 0.1 % accounted for 4.8 % of the total income, up from 4.2 % in 2018.
Over the same period, the share of the top 1 % and top 10 % increased from 11.2 % to 12.1 % and 36.8 % to 37.8 %, respectively.
