The top-ten percent of South Korea’s richest citizens have 45 percent of the national income, the largest among major economies excluding the United States.
 
The National Assembly Research Service conducted an analysis of data by the World Top Income Database and the International Monetary Fund.
 
According to the analysis, South Koreans belonging to the top ten percent in income took up 44-point-nine percent of the national income in 2012.
 
The comparable figures for the U.S., Singapore and Japan topped 40 percent, while Britain and France marked 39-point-one percent and 32-point-three percent, respectively.
 
The service said that the income share of South Korea’s top ten percent grew 16 percentage points from 1995, which is the fastest growth among major countries. It said that the figures shows that the distribution of wealth was mostly concentrated on the top ten percent since the foreign currency crisis.