Korea’s disposable-income poverty rate has been declining steadily over the recent years without notable volatility. As shown in Figure 1, the disposable-income poverty rate was at its highest in 2009, when, in the aftermath of the 2007 global financial crisis, the Korean economy was in dire recession. However, whereas the poverty-reduction effect of public transfers has grown to a great extent, the market-income poverty rate in general, and the poverty rate of one-person households in particular, have turned upward of late. [Absolute poverty rate as used in this study is defined as the proportion of households living below the nationally-set subsistence level; relative poverty here means below 50 percent of the median income; market income is composed of earned income, business income, property income and private transfers; ordinary income consists of two components, market income and public transfers; public transfers include public pension, basic (old-age) pension, cash social benefits and in-kind social transfers; and disposable income is current income minus current tax and social security contributions.]
