The government has raised its standard median income by more than five percent on-year for next year, lowering the ceiling for households eligible for monthly state subsidies. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, its basic living committee held a session on Friday and decided to mark up the median income for 2023 by five-point-47 percent from a year earlier. 

Median income is a metric used to identify the midpoint of a nation’s income distribution and often used as a marker to provide support for those in the lower half. 

Under the committee's decision, the median monthly income of a four-person household in the country has been set at just over five-point-four million won, from five-point-12 million won this year.  

Under the new guidelines, a four-person household earning less than 30 percent of the median income, or under one-point-62 million won per month, will be eligible for so-called livelihood benefits.

A four-person household earning less than two-point-16 million won per month will be eligible for medical subsidies. Housing support financing will be available for a household making less than two-point-53 million won. 

For a single-person household, the median monthly income for next year has been set at over two million 77-thousand won, up six-point-84 percent from this year.