Middle-class households income falling after economic crisis’

One out of every three middle-class households in Seoul experienced income reduction after the 2008 global financial crisis, a survey showed Monday.

The Seoul Development Institute, a think tank of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, canvassed 1,000 middle-class households in the city last month and found that 31.1 percent of them saw their income decline after the financial crisis.

The institute defined "middle-class" as those whose monthly household income ranges from 1.5 million won (US$1,220) to 4.5 million won.

Slightly over half of them said they spend less than before, especially on eating out, purchasing groceries and getting private education.

The survey showed about 6 percent of the respondents live in worse dwelling conditions than before. Nearly 33 percent of them said they moved to smaller houses and 31.3 percent sold their houses and moved into apartments.

The share of households whose members were unable to go to a hospital for economic reasons was 5.9 percent. This percentage was especially high among households earning 1.5-2 million won in monthly income, the lowest income bracket in the middle class, with 11.9 percent.

The survey also found that economic problems had a bad influence on family relationships.

Almost 13 percent answered conversations with family members had decreased, 10.1 percent said they quarreled more frequently than before and 5.5 percent said they have seriously considered divorce.

"The financial crisis did not trigger massive layoffs or worsen the employment environment as in the 1997 financial crisis, but the far-reaching economic slowdown worsened economic conditions of the middle class," Kim Gyeong-hye, a senior fellow at the institute, said.