Recent government data on household income in South Korea shows that inequality between the top and bottom 20 percent brackets have reached a new high.<br />After being on the receiving end of a wave of media criticism,... South Korea's presidential office responded on Sunday,... insisting the figures are not a true reflection of what's happening in the country.<br />Oh Soo-young reports.<br />The Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae insists income inequality in South Korea has not worsened despite recent government data that paints a different picture.<br />Statistics Korea's second quarter data released last week seems to indicate the worst level of household income inequality in more than a decade.<br />Between April and June,... the average household earned around 3,900 U.S. dollars a month,... up three-point-eight percent on-year.<br />However,... the monthly income for the bottom 20 percent income bracket remained unchanged from the year before,... averaging one-thousand-ninety dollars.<br />The top 20 percent earned nearly 7-thousand-800 dollars a month on average,... marking a three-point-two percent increase compared to the same period in 2018.<br />This comes despite the Moon Jae-in administration's push to generate "income-driven growth" for the country.<br />Cheong Wa Dae defended its efforts.<br />The top office's Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Lee Ho-seong said Sunday that average income for the bottom 20 percent bracket was no longer in the red which he said should be viewed positively.<br />He said various policy efforts such as strengthening social safety nets has had a positive effect... and the average household income level for 2018 to 2019 is comparatively higher than previous years.<br />The official added some 33 billion dollars will be set aside for next year's government budget,.. nearly half of which will be invested in social welfare.<br />Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.<br />
