Income Gap Among Middle Class Largest Ever

Income gap among the middle class has become the largest ever with the class getting thinner and thinner caused by growing polarization.

The monthly everage income for the upper 30-50% bracket in all the Korean families for the first quarter of this year is 1.662 times that for the lower 30-50% bracket, the highest since such statistics were produced in 2003, according to the National Statistical Office Sunday.

The ratio reflects the 8-3 bracket of the 10-stage income classification, the so-called middle class. The upper 30-50% bracket is the middle-high (8-6) class and the lower 30-50% bracket is the middle-low (5-3) one.

It was 1.609 in the first quarter of 2004, 1.644 in 2005 and 1.660 in the first quarter of 2007.