Signal The lowest income quintile spends 123 percent of disposable income while the top spends 55 percent

Summary

The strategy reports average propensities to consume by income quintile for the third quarter of 2025. The overall figure was 67.2 percent, while the lowest quintile spent 123.1 percent of its disposable income. The second, third and fourth quintiles spent 75.0, 71.2 and 69.9 percent, and the top quintile only 54.9 percent. A Bank of Korea analysis from April 2023 cited in the strategy warns that household debt above 80 percent of GDP may hold back growth by constraining consumption. IMF estimates also show that a one point rise in the income share of the lowest quintile adds 0.38 percent to GDP over five years, while the same rise for the top quintile subtracts 0.08 percent.