In Korea, the number of wealthy people holding 1 billion won or more in financial assets grew by more than 3% last year, surpassing 476,000, according to estimates. As alternative investments such as gold and digital assets drew attention, the shares of real estate and financial assets in their asset mix edged down slightly.
According to the 2025 Korea wealthy report published by KB Financial Group Management Research Institute on the 14th, as of the end of last year, there were 476,000 people with financial assets of 1 billion won or more classified as "wealthy," accounting for 0.92% of the total population.
The number of wealthy people rose 3.2% from a year earlier, and has more than tripled compared with 2011, when this survey began (based on end-2010 statistics, 130,000). It has increased an average of 9.7% each year. As of the end of last year, the total financial assets held by wealthy people in Korea reached 3,066 trillion won, up 8.5% in one year. That amounts to 60.8% of total household financial assets (5,041 trillion won).
Since 2011 (1,158 trillion won), the average annual growth rate of wealthy people's financial assets was analyzed at 7.2%. By asset size, 90.8% (432,000 people) were classified as "affluent," holding financial assets of "1 billion won to under 10 billion won." "High-net-worth individuals" with financial assets of "10 billion won to under 30 billion won" accounted for 6.8% (32,000 people), and "ultra-high-net-worth individuals" with 30 billion won or more accounted for 2.5% (12,000 people).
In interviews with 400 wealthy people in July–August this year, their assets were split on average between real estate and financial assets at 54.8% and 37.1%, respectively. Compared with 2024 (real estate 55.4%, financial 38.9%), the shares of both real estate and financial assets fell slightly. The institute analyzed that increased investment in other assets was driven by attention to alternative destinations such as gold and digital assets.
Looking in detail at the asset composition of wealthy people in Korea, primary residence dwellings (31.0%), liquid financial assets such as cash (12.0%), non-primary residence dwellings (10.4%), deposits and savings (9.7%), buildings and commercial properties (8.7%), and stocks (7.9%) were the order.
Compared with the same survey in 2024, the shares of liquid financial assets, deposits and savings, and stocks rose by 0.4 percentage points (p), 1.0 p, and 0.5 p, respectively. In contrast, primary residence dwellings, non-primary residence dwellings, and buildings and commercial properties fell by 1.0 p, 0.5 p, and 1.6 p, respectively. The institute said this was due to a wait-and-see mood in the real estate market and a pullback in new real estate investments.
Wealthy people most frequently chose stocks (55.0%) as short-term investment targets expected to deliver high returns within a year. Gold and jewelry (38.8%), primary residence dwellings (35.5%), non-primary residence dwellings (25.5%), and funds (14.0%) followed. Stocks (49.8%) were also cited as the top promising destination for high returns in medium- to long-term investments of three to five years. The response rate jumped 14.3 percentage points from last year. Primary residence dwellings (34.8%) and gold and jewelry (33.8%) were also mentioned.
The sources by which wealthy people accumulated assets were mainly business income (34.5%), profits from real estate investment (22.0%), and profits from financial investment (16.8%).