SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s household assets fell for the first time in over a decade on the back of the property market slump, government data showed Thursday.
The average asset per household amounted to 527.27 million won (398,420 U.S. dollars) at the end of March, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier, according to joint data from Statistics Korea, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service.
It marked the first reduction since relevant data began to be compiled in 2012.
Per-household real asset, such as land and housing, retreated 5.9 percent in the cited period, but the financial asset expanded 3.8 percent.
The average value of residing homes per household tumbled 10.0 percent for the past year amid higher borrowing costs.
The Bank of Korea had left its key rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January after hiking it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years.
Of the total household assets, the real asset accounted for 76.1 percent at the end of March, down 1.7 percentage points from a year earlier.
The average asset among households in the top 20-percent income bracket stood at 1,174.58 million won (887,550 dollars), about 6.8 times larger than 172.87 million won (130,630 dollars) in the bottom 20-percent income group.
Asset for those in their 60s or older added 0.9 percent in the cited period, but assets in all other age groups shrank in single digits for the past year.
The average debt per household inched up 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 91.86 million won (69,410 dollars) at the end of March.
Per-household financial debt reduced 1.6 percent, but security deposit for homes advanced 5.3 percent.
Of the total households, the proportion of households with debt came in at 62.1 percent at the end of March, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier.
The average debt among households in the bottom 20-percent income bracket surged 22.7 percent to 20.04 million won (15,140 dollars), while debt in the top 20-percent income group rose 0.4 percent to 206.34 million won (155,920 dollars).
Meanwhile, the per-household average income grew 4.5 percent over the year to 67.62 million won (51,100 dollars) in 2022.
Earned income increased 6.4 percent to 43.90 million won (33,170 dollars), and business income climbed 4.0 percent to 12.06 million won (9,110 dollars).
Public transfer income declined 4.8 percent to 6.25 million won (4,720 dollars) last year on lower government grants for small merchants and micro businesses suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The average non-consumption expenditure per household, including tax, social insurance fee and interest payment, expanded 8.1 percent to 12.80 million won (9,670 dollars) in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Interest payment surged 18.3 percent last year, while expenditure for tax and social insurance fee gained 4.1 percent and 8.2 percent respectively.
Source : Xinhua