According to Kim Tae-Wan, director of the Inclusive Welfare Research Group at KIHASA, one-person households have increased over the years in Korea as the structure of the Korean family has undergone significant changes. He says that this research was undertaken to look into post-covid-19 income changes among one-person households, a group highly susceptible to changes in economic conditions. According to him, these households, mainly comprised of young people and older adults who tend to be unstable in their economic participation, have been hit hardest by covid-19. He adds that the current economic turmoil has been more devastating for one-person households in their 40s and 50s and that though it is timely and appropriate to target the fourth emergency relief at self-employed people as a whole, it should be done in a manner that there should be no blind spots in the selecting process.

• -One- and two-person households represent more than half of all households.

• -30% of one-person households are low-income (in the 1^st income quintile).

• -Declines in business income due to covid-19 are particularly noticeable in one-person households.

• -The impact of the pandemic will continue in 2021, necessitating emergency measures for one-person households at risk.