SEOUL, November 01 (AJP) - Nearly four in 10 middle-income earners in South Korea saw their earnings decline in 2024, the highest proportion since the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Sunday.
According to the National Data Agency's income mobility statistics, 38.9 percent of people in the middle income bracket in 2023 earned less from wages or businesses the following year, up from 35.1 percent a year earlier.
The group represents the middle 20 percent of individuals ranked by employment and business income.
For many, the decline was steep. Some 12.8 percent of middle-income earners saw their earnings fall by at least half, meaning roughly one in three of those who suffered income losses lost 50 percent or more.
Meanwhile, the proportion reporting higher earnings dropped to 57.3 percent from 63 percent, the sharpest decline among the country's five income groups.
The middle-income bracket also recorded the largest increase in the share of people whose earnings fell, reversing three consecutive years of improvement following the pandemic.
The trend was more pronounced than among income earners overall, of whom 36 percent reported lower earnings in 2024, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous year.
The figures add to signs of pressure on wage earners. According to Bank of Korea data, employees' share of national income fell from 68.8 percent in 2023 to 67.4 percent in 2024 and a provisional 66.8 percent in 2025.
The latest findings highlight the uneven changes in earnings across income groups, with those in the middle facing a sharper deterioration than the national average.
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