'Bumochance' Deepens Asset Gap Among MZ Generation... Top 20% Have 35 Times More Assets Than Bottom 20%

[Photo by Kim Hoe-jae, Office of the Democratic Party of Korea]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Statistics have revealed that the wealth gap among the MZ generation in their 20s and 30s is increasingly widening.

Today (the 11th), Kim Hoe-jae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that according to an analysis of the microdata from the Statistics Korea Household Finance and Welfare Survey, the average assets of households headed by individuals in their 20s and 30s last year amounted to 318.49 million KRW. Although this figure represents an increase of 22 million KRW compared to the previous year, the wealth gap within the generation has actually expanded.

According to the statistics, as of last year, the average assets of the bottom 20% (1st quintile) within the 20s and 30s age group were 24.73 million KRW, which is an increase of 640,000 KRW (2.6%) from the previous year. In contrast, the average assets of the top 20% (5th quintile) were 870.44 million KRW, up by 70.31 million KRW (8.8%) from the previous year. Consequently, the 5th quintile ratio, calculated by dividing the average assets of the top 20% by that of the bottom 20%, increased from 33.21 times in 2019 to 35.20 times, indicating a worsening inequality.

When broken down by age, the wealth gap was particularly more pronounced among those in their 20s compared to those in their 30s. Last year, the average assets of the bottom 20% of households in their 20s were 8.44 million KRW, while the top 20% had an average of 328.55 million KRW. However, the average assets of the bottom 20% decreased by 1.15 million KRW (-11.9%) compared to the previous year, whereas the top 20% saw an increase of 8.17 million KRW (2.5%). As a result, the 5th quintile ratio for households in their 20s worsened from 33.42 times in 2019 to 38.92 times.

Conversely, income disparity was greater among those in their 30s than those in their 20s. An analysis of income by asset quintiles for households in their 20s last year showed that the average current income of households in the top 20% of assets was 52.62 million KRW, while that of the bottom 20% was 21.45 million KRW. Therefore, the income 5th quintile ratio for those in their 20s was 2.45 times, which is lower than the 3.05 times ratio for those in their 30s.

In response, Representative Kim interpreted, "This indirectly reveals that the wealth gap among households in their 20s is due to the inheritance of wealth rather than income differences." He added, "It is time to break the cycle of inherited wealth and the unfairness of opportunities that arise from differences in parental wealth. Our society must come together to promptly devise solutions to resolve polarization."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.