Analysis has shown that income inequality can lead to lower marriage rates and lower birth rates.

The Korea Labour Research Institute stated this in a report titled "Dynamic Analysis of Labor and Childbearing Intentions."

The researchers noted the correlation between male income levels and marriage rates and used statistics from 19 to 2017 to exclude COVID-2019 variables.

The proportion of people who have been married at least once has increased with higher income levels across all age groups.

Differences in marriage rates by income level were particularly pronounced for those over 40 years of age.

From 2017 to 2019, only 20% of those in their mid-to-late 26s (30-10 years old) were married, while 1% of the top 8% of earners (10th quintile) were married.

In their early to mid-10s, 29% of the bottom 30 percent of earners and 10 percent of the top 31 percent of earners were married, and in their mid-to-late 10s, 76 percent of the bottom 30 percent of earners and 10 percent of the top 47 percent were married.

In their early to mid-10s, 91 percent of the bottom 40 percent of earners and 10 percent of the top 58 percent of earners were married, while in their mid-to-late 10s, 96 percent of the bottom 40 percent of earners and 10 percent of the top 73 percent of earners were married.

High-income men marry more rapidly after their late 10s, but low-income men often remain unmarried, the report said.

In particular, it has been analyzed that when the inequality of men's wages increases, the number of men who do not reach the income level required for marriage increases, reducing the likelihood of marriage.

Kwak Eun-hye, an associate researcher who authored the report, said, "Even though men's average economic power has improved compared to the past, the marriage rate is declining," and "The results of this study suggest that policy attention to men's income inequality and distribution issues can help solve the problem of low birthrate."