Korea's H-Shaped Polarization: Record Stocks, Collapse
Korea's H-Shaped Polarization: Record Stock Market, Collapsing Housing Supply, and the Death of Economic Mobility Seoul, May 27, 2026 — On paper, South Korea's economy is roaring. The KOSPI has surged to an all-time high of 8,228. Semiconductor exports are up 39% year-over-year. Q1 GDP growth hit 1.7%, well above consensus. But beneath these headline numbers, a profound structural transformation is underway — one that economists are now calling "H-shaped polarization," where the trajectories of the wealthy and the poor have become permanently parallel lines that never converge, regardless of the macroeconomic cycle. The numbers are brutal in their clarity. According to Statistics Korea, the top 20% of households by net assets saw their wealth increase 7.9% year-over-year in Q1 2026. The bottom 20% saw their net assets decline 4.9% — and the absolute level has fallen 18.3% since 2020, from 12 million won to 9.8 million won. The net asset Gini coefficient reached 0...