Economic inequality grows in Korea

High-rise apartments in the upscale Gangnam area and redevelopment districts in Gangbuk / Korea Times file

The gap between Korea's rich and poor is widening, a recent report shows.

According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs' "Statistical Yearbook of Poverty 2015," the Gini coefficient for 2014 has either remained the same or grown from a year earlier, both in income and expenditure.

The Gini coefficient, developed by Italian statistician Corrado Gini, is the most commonly used measure of inequality. Zero represents perfect equality and one maximal inequality.

The Gini coefficient for market income for 2014 stood at 0.331, a 0.003 rise from a year earlier.

The figure for consumption in 2014 rose to 0.262, by 0.008 from 2013.

The figures for both income and expenditure represent the growing inequality.