Private Education Expenses of Highest Income Bracket Eight Times that of the Lowest

It has been revealed that the private education expenses of those in the top income bracket are more than eight times that of the poorest.

According to the analysis conducted by the National Statistical Office announced on August 8, regarding the living expenses of 7,291 households nationwide during the second quarter (from April to June) of this year divided into 10 classes of 729 households or 10 percent, the top 10 percent’s monthly average private education expenses are 292,000 won, which is 8.1 times that of the figure of 36,000 won for the lowest 10 percent.

During the same period, the average monthly expenditures of the top 10 percent were 3.736 million won, or 4.2 times that of the 883,000 won for the lowest 10 percent.

In other words, the gap in private education expenditures is greater than that of normal expenditures.

The difference in the private education expenses was the greatest in the second quarter of last year, when it reached 9.2 times, since the NSO began researching the household economy in the first quarter of 2003.

After gradually decreasing to 8.3 times in the third quarter of 2004, 7.6 times in fourth quarter of 2004, and 6.3 times in the first quarter of 2005, it began to increase again in the second quarter of this year.

Experts analyze that with the income gap between the highest and lowest class widening, the scale of private education gap has also increased.

NOS Employment Welfare Statistics Division Director Choi Yeon-ok said, “When the economy is uneasy, there is a trend for households with unstable income such as self-employed to reduce the amount of private education expenses more than the household of urban workers.”

In addition, the proportion of miscellaneous expenses such as beauty treatment and buying accessories was 22.2 percent for the top 10 percent households, the highest of all expenses, followed by groceries (22.0 percent), transportation and communication expenses (16.7 percent), education (9.3 percent), and cultural and amusement life (6.9 percent)

In contrast the lowest 10 percent spent most of their money, or 29.3 percent, on groceries, 19.7 percent on transportation and communication, 14.6 percent on miscellaneous costs, 7.4 percent on heating and water service, and 7.3 percent on medical and health costs.

legman@donga.com