Only top 20% of urban households saw real income rise in Q1

Real income fell across the bottom four income quintiles among South Korea’s urban households in the first quarter, rising only for the highest-income households, government data showed Wednesday.

It was the first time since the data series began in the first quarter of 2020 that inflation-adjusted income declined for the bottom four quintiles while increasing for the top 20 percent, according to data released through the Korean Statistical Information Service.

An income quintile divides the pop ...