The relative poverty rate, based on disposable income, dropped to 13.3 percent in 2014, a decline from the previous year by 0.1 percentage point, according to a report released Tuesday by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
But the relative poverty rate for single-person households increased by 1.5 percentage points to 47.6 percent.
People in relative poverty lack the minimum amount of income needed to maintain the average standard of living in their respective society.
The overall rate peaked at 14.2 percent during the global financial crisis in 2008, before sliding to 13.4 percent in 2013.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
