The National Assembly Research Service (NARS), headed by President Lee Kwan-Hu, held a briefing on the findings of the Multidimensional Inequality Index study on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at Seminar Room 1 of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building.

The briefing was organized to present the key results of the first multidimensional inequality analysis conducted under the leadership of the National Assembly and to discuss the current state of inequality in Korean society and directions for policy responses. The study was carried out as part of a 2025 joint research project involving the National Assembly Secretariat, NARS, the National Assembly Budget Office (NABO), the National Assembly Library, and the National Assembly Future Institute (NAFI).

According to the findings, an integrated analysis of data from 2011 to 2023 showed that income inequality had moderately eased, while inequalities in assets, education, and health had widened. In particular, the contribution of asset inequality increased significantly, driving up overall inequality levels and intensifying polarization between high-income/high-asset groups and low-income/low-asset groups.

In the education sector, disparities in admission rates to top-tier universities based on household income widened, while in the health domain, relatively unfavorable outcomes were observed among low-income groups and residents of eup and myeon (township and rural) areas.

The Research Service also pointed out limitations in the analysis due to restricted access to key administrative data and difficulties in linking datasets across institutions. The lack of long-term panel data linking real estate assets and educational attainment was identified as a major obstacle to more precise multidimensional inequality analysis.

Lee Kwan-Hu, President of NARS, emphasized that while income inequality has eased, multidimensional inequalities in assets, education, and health have intensified, meaning that lived experiences often diverge from income-based statistics. He stressed that addressing inequality requires a comprehensive policy approach encompassing real estate, taxation, finance, and social welfare, and noted that the study would serve as a scientific foundation for future inequality-related policymaking.