22 registered owners aged 0–5; most high-earning minor owners concentrated in real estate and rental businesses
An average of 21 minor business owners per year earned more than 100 million won ($72,400) annually, with some as young as infants among them, data released Monday showed.
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Moon Jin-seog, a member of the National Assembly's fiscal and economic planning committee, obtained the data from the National Health Insurance Service. The figures, covering 2021 through 2025, show that an average of 382 business owners aged 18 or under were registered each year under the national health insurance system as workplace subscribers — a cumulative total of 1,909 people over the five-year period.
The statistics count only minor business owners registered as workplace subscribers under the national health insurance system.
By age group, those aged 11 to 15 were the most numerous at an annual average of 151, followed by those aged 16 to 18 at 129, those aged 6 to 10 at 81, and those aged 0 to 5 at 22.
Among them, an annual average of 21 minor owners earned more than 100 million won. Those aged 11 to 15 accounted for the largest share at 12, followed by 6 in the 16-to-18 age group, 2 in the 6-to-10 group, and 1 in the 0-to-5 group. Another 43 earned between 50 million won and 100 million won per year, while 318 earned 50 million won or less.
By region, Seoul accounted for 237, or 62 percent of the total. Gyeonggi Province followed with 69, then Incheon with 23 and Busan with 19. Among those earning more than 100 million won, Seoul again led with 12, followed by Incheon with 4, Gyeonggi Province with 3, and Busan and South Gyeongsang Province with 1 each. The remaining 11 cities and provinces had no minor business owners earning above that threshold.
High-earning minor owners were concentrated overwhelmingly in real estate rental businesses, typically involving commercial properties, officetels or housing inherited from parents or grandparents. Among the top 100 earners by income from 2021 to 2025, 95 were in real estate, rental and business services. Four were in wholesale, retail and consumer goods repair, and one was in manufacturing.
"A child who hasn't even been potty-trained being listed as a company owner with an annual salary of 100 million won is a snapshot of inequality in our society," Moon said. "The National Tax Service and the National Health Insurance Service need to jointly examine whether this involves disguised gifts or income-splitting through family corporations."
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