NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Statistics Korea announced the 2022 Household Financial Welfare Survey today, which found the asset of the upper 20% of the households increased by roughly 140 million won since last year. As of late March, the asset of the top 20% averaged slightly above 1.65 billion, which is 64 times greater than the average asset of the bottom 20% at 25.84 million won. This is the greatest asset gap recorded since 2012 when relevant figures began to be kept. The previous record was 62.4 times set in 2012.
North Korea was banned from the Olympic Games since it refused to take part in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. But the country may participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The International Olympic Committee reported today that it has been briefed on the situation of the suspended North Korean Olympic Committee and its suspension would automatically expire on December 31st, 2022. North Korea had closed its borders in January 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and had refused to send a team to the Tokyo Olympics held in July 2021.