Gov't provided 9.26 million won in social services per household in 2024

The government provided an average of 9.26 million won ($6,550) in social services to each household in 2024, government data showed on Tuesday.

Social in-kind transfer income reached 9.26 million won per household in 2024, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

It accounted for 12.5 percent of the country’s average household income of 74.27 million won, down from 13.6 percent in 2022 and 12.8 percent in 2023.

Social in-kind transfers are free goods and services — such as public health care, education, child care and subsidized meals — provided to households by governments or nonprofit organizations.

Medical services accounted for the largest portion at 4.88 million won, followed by education at 3.77 million won and child care at 320,000 won.

A household in the lowest income bracket received 7.27 million won in social services, equivalent to 46.8 percent of its total income.

By comparison, a household in the highest income bracket received 12.53 million won, equivalent to 7.2 percent of its income.

The Gini coefficient, a key measure of income inequality, was 0.281 when social in-kind transfers were included in disposable income, down 0.044 points from the figure based on disposable income alone.

Yonhap