Less than 20% of South Koreans moved up the income ladder in the past year. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEJONG, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – Less than 20% of South Koreans moved up the income ladder in the past year, according to new data released by Statistics Korea on December 17, highlighting growing concerns about social mobility in the country.
The comprehensive “Income Mobility Statistics 2017-2022″ report, which analyzed data from 11 million individuals, reveals both the rigidity of high-income positions and the persistence of poverty, painting a stark picture of South Korea’s class divisions.
Income mobility, defined as the percentage of people who moved up or down income quintiles compared to the previous year, stood at 34.9% in 2022, with 17.6% moving up and 17.4% moving down. This marks a decline from 35.8% in 2020 and 35% in 2021, indicating decreasing social mobility.
The study found that those in the highest income bracket (top 20%) were most likely to maintain their position, with 86% remaining in the same quintile the following year. Breaking into this top tier proved particularly challenging, with only 10.2% of those in the fourth quintile managing to move up to the fifth quintile.
Similarly concerning patterns emerged at the bottom of the income scale. Among those in the lowest quintile, 69.1% remained there the following year, suggesting significant barriers to escaping poverty. This was particularly pronounced among elderly populations, with 39.8% of seniors in the lowest income bracket unable to improve their position.
Age played a significant role in income mobility. Young people (ages 15-39) showed the highest mobility rate at 41%, with more upward than downward movement (23% vs 18%). In contrast, both middle-aged (40-64) and elderly (65+) groups were more likely to experience downward mobility.
Gender differences were also evident, with women showing slightly higher mobility than men. In 2022, women’s upward and downward mobility rates both stood at 18%, compared to men’s rates of 17.2% and 16.8%, respectively.
The COVID-19 pandemic appeared to have a significant impact on income mobility, particularly affecting elderly women, who saw their upward mobility rate drop from 8.7% to 7.6% in 2020 while their downward mobility increased from 11.4% to 12.5%.
In terms of absolute income changes in 2022, 64.4% of individuals saw their income increase from the previous year, while 32.9% experienced a decrease. However, the majority of increases were modest, with 22% of people seeing gains of less than 10% – a percentage that has been steadily rising since 2017′s figure of 19.9%.
Statistics Korea developed these mobility metrics to support policy-making aimed at improving social mobility and providing assistance to vulnerable groups, offering a longitudinal perspective compared to traditional cross-sectional income distribution data.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
