Middle-class hit hardest in 2024 after COVID-19: data

Nearly 4 in 10 South Koreans in the middle income bracket saw their income decrease in 2024 compared to 2023, government data showed Sunday, the highest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The income level for 38.9 percent of those in the third income quintile decreased between 2023 and 2024, according to the data by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. About 12.8 percent saw their income drop by at least 50 percent.

The proportion of people in the middle income bracket with decreased income fell for each year since 2020, going from 41.2 percent in 2020, to 38.6 percent in 2021, 35.8 percent in 2022, and 35.2 percent in 2023.

The figure for 2024 rose for the first time since the economic slump during the global pandemic, meaning there was a higher proportion of people with decreased income that year.

The proportion of those with decreased income also increased among other groups. About 40.5 percent of the second quintile saw their income drop in 2024 compared to 2023, followed by 36.5 percent among the third quintile, 35.1 percent among the fifth, and 29.1 percent among the first quintile.

In contrast, income increased for 57.3 percent of the middle income bracket in 2024, compared to 2023. This was lower than the 63 percent recorded between 2022 and 2023, and the lowest since 2021.

Only 9.7 percent of the third quintile saw their income surge by at least 50 percent in 2024, 2.3 percentage points lower than 2023 and the smallest since the government started the tally in 2018.