Poor lose out as wealth gap grows in Korea

High-rise upscale apartments in the wealthy district of Gangnam and a re-development area in Ganguk are shown in this file photo. / Korea Times file

The top 10 percent of the richest South Koreans, in terms of assets, own 66 percent of total wealth, a study shows. The 50 percent on the lower end, on the other hand, own a mere 2 percent.

The findings are from a paper by Kim Nak-nyeon, an economics professor at Dongguk University in Seoul. The paper was posted on the Naksungdae Institute of Economic Research website, Thursday. It analyzed 2000-2013 data on inheritance tax from the National Tax Service.

The paper showed the top 10 percent of asset holders aged 20 and above owned 66.4 percent of total wealth in 2013, up from an average 63.2 percent from 2000 to 2007.

The top 10 percent was defined as owning at least 224 million won in assets. Each person in the group owned an average of 624 million won in financial assets and real estate.

Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent's ratio of assets has continued to fall, from 2.6 percent in 2000 and 2.2 percent in 2006 to 1.9 percent in 2013.