Median income
KRW 33,572,8792024 · Published threshold
KR · KRW · 2024
South Korea Income Percentiles 2024: Median & Top 1%
The 2024 WID-based median annual income in South Korea is KRW 33,572,879, or KRW 2,797,740 when divided by 12. The annual top-1% entry threshold is KRW 247,605,837. These are pre-tax national-income estimates for equal-split adults aged 20+, not employee salaries or household incomes.
Median income, average salary and income percentiles
The median is the 50th-percentile boundary, with half of adults below it and half above. The imported dataset contains percentile thresholds, not an arithmetic mean. Averaging these boundaries does not produce an average salary. A top-1% threshold is the entry boundary, not the average income of the richest 1%.
CountrySouth Korea
Annual pre-tax incomeKRW
Data sourceWID.world · 2024
South Korea income thresholds
Selected published WID thresholds. Amounts are annual pre-tax national income, not take-home salary. Monthly equivalents divide the annual amount by 12.
| Approximate rank | Annual income (KRW) | Monthly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Top 50% | KRW 33,572,879 | KRW 2,797,740 |
| Top 25% | KRW 55,369,466 | KRW 4,614,122 |
| Top 10% | KRW 89,108,078 | KRW 7,425,673 |
| Top 5% | KRW 117,851,802 | KRW 9,820,983 |
| Top 1% | KRW 247,605,837 | KRW 20,633,820 |
| Top 0.1% | KRW 855,735,489 | KRW 71,311,291 |
Income data: 2024 · PPP: 2024 · World: 2024
How is it calculated?
Annual pre-tax national income for equal-split adults aged 20+. This WID concept is broader than salary. Country rank uses local thresholds; worldwide rank uses WID purchasing-power conversion. We use logarithmic interpolation between points and extrapolation outside them.
This estimate is outside the published threshold range; it uses extrapolation and is more uncertain.
Amounts use each country's own currency and data year. This is a rank comparison, not an exchange-rate, cost-of-living or relocation estimate.
Income tiers
The tier names are a RankMyIncome display system, not official WID classifications.
Diamond: Top 10% · Master: Top 5% · Grandmaster: Top 1% · Challenger: Top 0.1%
Data source: WID.world · Methodology (English)
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Income percentile calculators by country →Income benchmarks
Worldwide rank of the country median
Top 18.65%USD PPP 42,598.46 · 2024
Top 1% threshold / median
7.38×2024
Reading income data for South Korea
Searches for Korean salary rank often refer to employment-income statistics. This page instead compares the broader WID adult national-income distribution. A top-group average from a salary table is also different from the minimum income needed to enter that group. Read the boundary values below with their definition.
KOSIS official statistics · Income vs salary percentile
Income distribution explorer
Published in the imported WID series. Annual pre-tax national income, not net salary.
p10
KRW 5,038,475Published threshold
p25
KRW 17,928,549Published threshold
p50
KRW 33,572,879Published threshold
p75
KRW 55,369,466Published threshold
p90
KRW 89,108,078Published threshold
p95
KRW 117,851,802Published threshold
p99
KRW 247,605,837Published threshold
p99.9
KRW 855,735,489Published threshold
Common questions
What is the median income in South Korea?
KRW 33,572,879 · 2024. Published in the imported WID series. Annual pre-tax national income, not net salary.
What is the top 10% income in South Korea?
KRW 89,108,078 · 2024. Published in the imported WID series. Annual pre-tax national income, not net salary.
Is this a salary percentile?
WID pre-tax national income is broader than salary. These are adult income ranks, not employee salary percentiles.
Related tools
Compare adult median income
South Korea’s KRW figures use a national adult distribution, not a distribution of employee salaries. Japan, Taiwan and Singapore provide selected comparisons using the same income concept. Differences in income and PPP years are shown alongside each figure.
| Country | Median (USD PPP) | Income / PPP year |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 42,598.46 | 2024 / 2024 |
| Japan | 41,324.59 | 2024 / 2024 |
| Taiwan | 50,344.18 | 2024 / 2024 |
| Singapore | 107,825.6 | 2024 / 2024 |
The top-10% threshold is 2.65 times the median; the top-1% threshold is 7.38 times the median. These ratios compare income boundaries, not shares of total income.
Sources and interpretation
Monthly equivalents divide annual income by 12; they are not take-home pay. PPP compares national price levels, not current exchange rates or personal living costs. WID estimates may be revised.
WID.world · tptinc992j / tptincj992 · 2024 · KRW. PPP: xlcusp999i / xlcuspi999 · 2024.
WID.world · WID methodology · WID codes dictionary · Data sources (EN)
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