S. Korea Ranks Fourth in Speed of Widening Income Gap among Asian Countries

Korea ranks fifth out of 28 Asian countries when it comes to the pace of income inequality.  

The Bank of Korea quoted a recent report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on March 10 to announce that the Gini coefficient dropped in 12 out of 28 Asian countries between 1990 and 2010. China’s coefficient jumped from 32.4 to 43.4 during the period at an annual average growth rate of 1.6 percent. 

In the Gini coefficient, zero stands for perfect income equality while one signifies perfect inequality. The ADB converted the figures of the countries on a one-to-100 basis in the report for better understanding. China was followed by Indonesia (29.2 to 38.9, 1.4 percent each year) and Laos (30.4 to 36.7, 1.2 percent). Korea’s index increased from 24.5 to 28.9 with an annual rate of 0.9 percent. Sri Lanka took fourth place. 

“Technological development, globalization and market-oriented reform programs have led the rapid economic growth of Asian countries, but the ratio of labor income to national income has declined at the same time to affect their income distribution structures,” the report read, continuing, “Efficient fiscal means and more decent jobs are required for a sustainable growth of productivity and increase in income.”