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It is proving hard to resist the trend towards inequality because of another basic feature of Korea’s economic model: total tax revenues are just 26% of GDP. Taxes are especially low on labour, a choice designed to boost work and foreign investment. But as a result, social spending is low (11%) public spending on family benefits is exceptionally low (less than a quarter of the rich-country average) and the tax-benefit system is the worst in the OECD at reducing inequality and poverty. Korea’s tax-benefit system reduces poverty by only 18% (compared with what it would have been without the benefits). Sweden’s tax-benefit system cuts its poverty rate by 80%.
Korea, argues Mr Jones, needs to increase taxes and social spending in order to reduce poverty and inequality. One reason it is reluctant to do this is because it is afraid of the impact on jobs. Its changing demography also suggests caution in expanding the social safety net too fast or far, as it will be used ever more over the decades to come.
And then there is the ever-present imponderable: the possible need, at some point, to finance the horrendous costs of reunification with destitute North Korea when that state collapses. That would make the vast expense of unification in Germany pale into insignificance. At some point in the future Korea may need all the room for future fiscal expansion it can get.

A. 어휘
resist 저항하다. trend 추세. feature 특징 revenues 稅收(세수).
social spending 사회적 지출. exceptionally 예외적으로.
tax-benefit system 세금혜택 제도. reluctant 주저하다.
demography 인구(통계학) social safety net 사회안전망.
ever-present 恒存(항존)하는. horrendous 무서운, 끔찍스러운.
destitute 極貧(극빈)의. collapses 붕괴하다.
vast expense of unification 막대한 통일비용. pale 無色(무색)해지다, 창백해지다.
insignificance 무의미, 보잘 것 없음. fiscal expansion 재정 확대.