Earnings of the poorest hit 15-year low

By Kang Aa-young

The monthly average income for the poorest bracket has hit a 15-year low, a report shows.

According to Statistics Korea on Sunday, the monthly income of households in the bottom 10 percent reported an average monthly income of 840,000 won ($778) in the first quarter of this year. This is 117,368 won (12.2 percent) lower than last year.

The figure is the lowest since 2003.

On the contrary, the income of the top 10 percent increased significantly to 12,717,465 won, up 1,225,064 won (10 percent) ― also the highest since 2003.