The average household income rose 2.4% in the first quarter to KRW 5.48 million per month. Shown is a scene on May 29 at a convenience store in Seoul's Jongno-gu District.

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

The average monthly income of a household with one or more people in the first quarter rose 2.4% year on year to KRW 5.48 million.

The Ministry of Data and Statistics on May 28 in a survey on the quarter's household trends also found that real income was up 0.4% given the inflation rate of 2.1%.

Risers included earned income (0.3% to KRW 3.42 million); business income (2.6% to KRW 925,000); property income (9.1% to KRW 66,000); transfer income (9.7% to KRW 964,000); and irregular income (5.8% to KRW 104,000).

The average monthly consumer spending by a household was KRW 3.1 million, up 5.3% from the first quarter last year.

Expenditures in transportation (12.1%), health (10.4%), food and accommodations (5.1%), and recreation and culture (12%) all rose, but decreases were seen in education (2.9%) and alcohol and tobacco (2.8%).

Non-consumption spending inched up 1.2% to KRW 1.13 million, with rises in interest expenses (6.6%) and social insurance (2.8%).

By income bracket, the average monthly income of households in the bottom 20% rose 2.7% to KRW 1.17 million, while that for the top 20% grew 4.2% to KRW 12.37 million.

aisylu@korea.kr