Richest of the Rich Earn More Than W3.3 Billion a Year

The richest 0.1 percent of Koreans earn more than W3.3 billion a year or a staggering 1,400 times the amount earned by the bottom 20 percent (US$W1=W1,311).

According to the National Tax Service, 9,399 people who make up the top 0.1 percent of the income bracket earned a total W31.13 trillion in aggregate income in 2021, which boils down to W3.33 billion per person on average.

Aggregate income includes money earned from business activities, salary, interest, dividends and pensions.

On the other hand, the 1.87 million Koreans in the bottom 20 percent of the income bracket earned a total of just W4.45 trillion, or W2.38 million per person. 

The wage gap continues to widen. In 2021, people in the top 0.1 percent accounted for 10.4 percent of the nation's aggregate income, compared to 10.2 percent a year earlier, when it first surpassed the 10 percent mark.