South Korea’s housing wealth gap reaches 290-fold — Korea Herald
In South Korea in 2025, the gap in the value of housing owned and occupied by the richest and poorest 20% of households reached 290-fold. This is the highest figure since the relevant statistics began being kept in 2017, Korea Herald reports.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service, the average value of such housing among the richest 20% of households was 693.4 million won, or about $525,000. This was 7.7% higher than a year earlier. Among the poorest 20%, the average value was 2.39 million won, down 9.1% year on year.
Housing ownership and value
Housing in which they lived was owned by 82.5% of households in the wealthiest group and only 6.6% in the poorest group. If a household did not own its current residence, it was assigned a value of zero in the calculation, even if it owned other real estate. Thus, the figure reflects both the difference in homeownership rates and the difference in housing values.
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In 2017 and 2018, the gap was about 146-fold. In 2022, it rose to 245.5-fold, fell to 215.1-fold in 2023, and then increased for two consecutive years, reaching 290.1-fold in 2025.
Different markets in Seoul and the provinces
Kim Hyun-soo, a professor of architectural engineering at Dankook University, named rising real estate prices in Seoul as one of the factors behind growing inequality. He urged the government to prioritize housing ready for occupancy rather than only the long-term goal of starting construction on 1.35 million homes in the capital region by 2030.
Yoo Seong-jong, a real estate professor at Konkuk University, also linked the gap to widening differences between housing markets in Seoul and the provinces. According to him, expensive housing is concentrated in the capital, while lower-value real estate owned by the poorest households is more often located in provincial regions. He also noted that mortgage lending restrictions are directing demand toward relatively affordable areas of Seoul, including Nowon and Dobong.
