Married men with children tend to have higher assets and incomes compared to their single counterparts. (Image courtesy of Pxfuel)
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent government study has unveiled significant economic disparities between men and women in South Korea, particularly when it comes to marriage and parenthood.
The analysis, conducted by Statistics Korea, focused on the socioeconomic characteristics of adults aged 25 to 39, shedding light on how marital status and children affect financial well-being across genders.
The study, released on September 10, found that married men with children tend to have higher assets and incomes compared to their single counterparts.
In contrast, women face a different reality: those with spouses or children are less likely to be employed and generally earn lower incomes.
According to the statistics, as of 2022, 33.7% of young adults aged 25 to 39 were married, marking a 2.4 percentage point decrease from the previous year. The marriage rate was notably higher among women (40.4%) compared to men (27.5%).
Age played a significant role in marital status, with only 7.9% of those in their late 20s being married, compared to 34.2% for those in their early 30s and 60.3% for those in their late 30s.
Geographically, the capital region showed a lower marriage rate (31.7%) than non-metropolitan areas (36.1%). Sejong boasted the highest percentage of married individuals at 51.4%, while Seoul had the lowest at 25%.
Employment rates tell a complex story. Overall, 73.9% of married individuals were registered as employed, slightly higher than the 72.8% for unmarried individuals.
However, a gender breakdown reveals stark differences: 91.1% of married men were employed compared to 73.5% of single men, while only 61.1% of married women were employed versus 71.8% of single women.
This disparity hints at the persistent issue of career interruptions for women following marriage.
Income disparities were equally pronounced. The median annual income for married individuals in this age group was 40.56 million won, significantly higher than the 32.20 million won for unmarried individuals.
However, while married men earned substantially more than their single counterparts (50.99 million won vs. 34.29 million won), married women earned less than single women (28.11 million won vs. 30.13 million won).
Home ownership rates also favored married individuals, with 31.7% owning homes compared to 10.2% of singles. Both married men and women were more likely to own homes than their unmarried peers.
The presence of children further amplified these trends. Among married young adults, 74.7% had children in 2022, a slight decrease from the previous year.
The employment rate for those with children (72.1%) was lower than for those without (79.1%), primarily due to lower employment rates among mothers (58.5%) compared to childless married women (69.7%).
Conversely, fathers had higher employment rates (91.7%) than married men without children (89.4%).
Income patterns for parents mirrored those of married couples, with fathers earning more than childless married men, while mothers earned less than married women without children.
The study also examined the living situations of unmarried young adults, finding that 50.6% lived with their parents, a slight decrease from the previous year.
Those living independently were more likely to be employed and had higher incomes than those living with parents.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
