Women playing larger role on economic stage

Source JoongAng Daily

As Korea’s economy has advanced, so has the role women play in this Confucian country.

Today, you’re likely to find just as many women venturing out into the workforce as those who decide to stay largely within the home.

They’re also gaining more clout on the economic stage, amassing wealth that goes far beyond the traditional paycheck and earning more than ever, according to the latest tax statistics.

In 2008, women accounted for more than 40 percent of all residents who filed their comprehensive income taxes, data from the National Tax Service show.

Aside from paychecks, comprehensive income tax includes various types of income including profits from investments and real estate rent. Residents file their comprehensive income tax in May every year.

Out of the 3.56 million people who filed their comprehensive income taxes in 2008, 1.43 million were women, according to the data.

The total income level reported by women in this group has been growing, too, from 9.9 trillion won in 2005 to 20.1 trillion won in 2008.

Women accounted for 23.9 percent of the total income value in 2008, up from 20.5 percent three years earlier, the data show.

At the same time, taxes levied on these women grew from 1.7 trillion won to 2.7 trillion won during the same period. Women accounted for 20 percent of the total tax levied on comprehensive income in 2008.

More women are apparently working their way into the upper echelon of earners. According to the data, the number of women in the top third in terms of income level surged 81.8 percent from 155,000 in 2005 to 282,000 in 2008.

The number of women in the top 10 percent shot up 83.8 percent, from 37,000 to 68,000, during the same period.

In 2008, the number of women who earned more than 100 million won a year totaled 20,218, up from 19,296 in 2007. Statistics before 2007 are unavailable.

“The rising figure, particularly in the top income class, indicates that there are more women today working in professional jobs with large paychecks such as doctors and lawyers,” said an official at the tax agency.

“Compared to the time before the 1980s, more women are getting advanced educations, including graduate degrees.”

The tax agency also attributed the trend to changes in social behavior that have played out in Korea in recent years, such as the growing number of women who prefer to remain single and pursue careers instead of having children.


By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]