In the past 10 years, the number of high-income workers with an annual income exceeding 100 million won has almost tripled. A significant number of these workers are concentrated in the metropolitan area and among men.
On the 27th, Choi Eun-seok, a member of the People Power Party, from Daegu's Dong-gu and Gunwi-gun, analyzed the 'earned income statistics (2014-2023)' submitted by the National Tax Service, which showed that the number of high-income workers with earned income exceeding 100 million won increased from 526,000 in 2014 to 1,393,000 in 2023, an increase of 867,000 (164.8%).
During the same period, the total number of earned income workers increased from 16,687,000 to 20,852,000, a rise of about 25%. The proportion of workers with an annual income exceeding 100 million won expanded from 3.2% to 6.7%.
Regionally, most high-income earners were concentrated in the metropolitan area. It was found that 60.6% of all high-income earners are located in Gyeonggi Province (427,000) and Seoul (416,000). This illustrates that the income gap between the metropolitan area and rural regions remains significant.
There was also a clear gender gap. As of 2023, there were 1,157,000 male high-income earners and 236,000 female high-income earners, meaning the number of men was about 4.9 times greater than that of women. However, considering that the gap was about 10 times in 2014, it is analyzed that the increase rate of female high-income earners is relatively fast.
Choi noted, "The increase in high-income workers is positive in terms of expanding high-value-added jobs, but concerns about income polarization and a decrease in social mobility are also growing as these workers are concentrated in specific regions, jobs, and genders."
He added, "The gap in earned income arises from differences in productivity and profitability among corporations and the sizes of organizations, ultimately leading to wage disparities between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises. There is a need for policy support that can enhance the competitiveness and compensation levels of small and medium-sized enterprises."