Key facts
- South Korea's income redistribution improvement rate was 17.6% in 2023.
- This rate was about half the OECD average of 34.4%.
- South Korea ranked 28th out of 29 OECD member countries for income redistribution.
- Costa Rica ranked lower than South Korea.
- The country's market-income Gini coefficient was 0.392, indicating high equality before taxes.
- Its disposable-income Gini coefficient was 0.323 after taxes and transfers.
South Korea ranked near the bottom of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries in income redistribution through taxes and welfare systems, according to an analysis by Yonhap News Agency based on the latest available data for 2023. The country's improvement rate in the Gini coefficient, which measures income inequality, was 17.6 percent. This figure is about half the OECD average of 34.4 percent, placing South Korea 28th among the 29 OECD member countries with available data, ahead only of Costa Rica.
The Gini coefficient for market income before taxes in South Korea was 0.392 in 2023, indicating a high level of equality. However, after taxes and transfers, the disposable-income Gini coefficient was 0.323, resulting in its low ranking for redistribution.
Kim Kwang-seok, a researcher at the Institute for Korean Economy & Industry, stated that these results show South Korea's income redistribution measures are relatively weak compared to other OECD countries and called for stronger government support for low-income households. The findings emerge as the South Korean economy has entered an expansionary phase driven by strong semiconductor exports, while concerns persist about entrenched economic polarization.