Households tighten medical spending amid economic slump

South Korea's households appear to be tightening their spending on medical services in the face of the protracted slump in economic growth, data showed Monday. A household's monthly spending on medication, hospital visits and other medical treatment averaged 171,483 won (US$152.16) during the first quarter of this year, up 2.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data provided by Statistics Korea. This marked the slowest growth since the first quarter of 2009 when the spending dropped 1.2 percent on-year. The 2009 shrinkage came as the country was still struggling in the wake of the global financial crisis. The slower growth can mean that people remain reluctant to open their wallets for medical treatment purposes amid the squeezing household finances. The data showed that the ratio of spending on medical products made up 1.63 percent of a household's monthly consumption-related expenditures during the first quarter. This is the lowest figure since 2003. Monthly household income also grew at a slower pace in the first quarter. The income of households consisting of two members or more averaged 4.19 million won per month during the January-March period, up 1.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. The income growth followed a 6.9 percent gain in the first quarter of last year. South Korea's economy is showing signs of losing its traction, with its gross domestic product expanding less than 1 percent for the recent eight straight quarters.