SEOUL: The number of South Koreans holding more than 1 billion won (US$676,818) in financial assets rose more than three per cent last year to nearly 480,000, Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting a wealth report by the research institute of the KB Financial Group.
According to the report, an estimated 476,000 individuals held at least 1 billion won in financial assets as of end-2024, representing 0.92 per cent of the total population.
The figure marked a 3.2 per cent increase from a year earlier and more than tripled from 130,000 in 2011, when the survey began.
Their combined financial assets totalled 3,066 trillion won, up 8.5 per cent from a year earlier, accounting for 60.8 per cent of total household financial assets nationwide.
“The growth rate of the wealthy individuals’ financial assets was nearly double that of overall household financial assets,” the institute said. “Wealth accumulation among the rich has been markedly faster than among the general population.”
The report showed that 32,000 people held financial assets worth between 10 billion and 30 billion won, while 12,000 individuals owned more than 30 billion won worth of financial assets.
According to in-depth interviews by the institute with 400 wealthy individuals conducted in July and August, 54.8 per cent of their assets were allocated to real estate and 37.1 per cent to financial assets.
Asked about their investment performance over the past year, 34.9 per cent said they posted gains, up 2.7 percentage points from last year, amid a strong local stock market.
Looking ahead, 55 per cent of the respondents cited stocks as the most promising investment over the next year, followed by gold and jewellery with 38.8 per cent and residential housing with 35.5 per cent.
Stocks also topped the list of the most attractive longer-term investment options, selected by 49.8 per cent of the respondents, which marked a sharp increase from last year’s 35.5 per cent, the report said. – BERNAMA
