Hanwha Asset Management on the 25th presented three PLUS exchange-traded funds (ETFs) suited for investment through the return-to-domestic-market account (RIA).
The return-to-domestic-market account (RIA) is a program that reduces capital gains tax on overseas stock transfers if funds from selling overseas stocks within the account are reinvested in the domestic stock market for more than one year. The sale amount limit is 50 million won per person, and the capital gains tax reduction rate varies depending on the timing of the sale. If the conditions are met by the end of May, capital gains tax on trading profits can be fully exempted.
Hanwha Asset Management said PLUS 200 is an ETF that diversifies across 200 blue-chip large-cap stocks representing the Korean stock market, allowing investors to participate in the KOSPI market's long-term growth. In particular, it applies a total fee of 0.017% per year to minimize the expense burden that arises in long-term investing and to maximize the effective rate of return. With net worth exceeding 1 trillion won, it maintains tight bid-ask quotes (spreads), enabling investment in a smooth and stable trading environment (liquidity).
PLUS high-dividend stocks pays a predictable and stable monthly dividend by using only stock dividends paid by corporations as the distribution source, without impairing principal. It is also a dividend growth ETF that has recorded an average annual distribution growth rate of 10.5% from 2013 to 2025. The company noted that capital gains from structural improvements and policy momentum—such as the Commercial Act amendment centering on mandatory treasury share cancellation and the separate taxation of dividend income—are also worth watching.
There is also the PLUS K-defense ETF. This ETF ranked No. 1 in domestic investment ETF gains last year (177.0%). With global increases in defense spending and the export expansion of Korean defense corporations translating into earnings growth, it is drawing attention as a mid- to long-term investment destination, and in the short term it can also be used as a hedge against geopolitical risk.
Geum Jeong-seop, head of the ETF Business Division at Hanwha Asset Management, said, "With the exchange rate hovering around the 1,500-won level, this is a time when returning to the Korean stock market through an RIA could allow investors to seek not only capital gains tax exemptions but also foreign exchange gains."