The Bank of Korea (BOK)'s net profit last year topped 15 trillion won, a record high. A strong dollar boosted revenue from its U.S. dollar holdings and overseas stock trades. The BOK paid 5.4 trillion won in corporate taxes, more than Samsung Electronics (2.8 trillion won).
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s "2025 annual report" released on the 27th, last year's net profit was 15.3275 trillion won, roughly double the previous year's 7.8189 trillion won. It was the largest net profit on record. The BOK said, "With the won-dollar exchange rate rising and securities prices increasing, net profit related to foreign-currency assets jumped significantly."
As of the end of February, the Bank of Korea (BOK) held $427.62 billion in foreign exchange reserves (about 645 trillion won). It generates revenue by managing this asset. When the won-dollar exchange rate rises, the BOK takes market-stabilizing measures by selling dollars in the foreign exchange market. Last year, selling dollars when the exchange rate was high produced capital gains. Foreign exchange trading profit was 6.3194 trillion won last year, more than five times the previous year's 1.1654 trillion won.
There is also an effect in which the won-converted returns on overseas stocks and bonds rise when the won-dollar exchange rate increases. As a result, gains on trades of securities such as stocks and bonds rose 14% to 9.5051 trillion won. Interest and dividends on securities were 12.6449 trillion won, up 9%.
◇ BOK cuts share of U.S. dollars and raises deposits... 11 trillion won paid to the government
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it holds 69.5% of its foreign-currency assets in U.S. dollars, down from 71.9% the previous year. The remainder is held in euros, yen and yuan, among others. The BOK noted, "With the U.S. dollar weakening on uncertainty related to tariff policy and concerns over widening fiscal deficits, we reduced the share of dollars and increased the share of other currencies."
Most investment products are bonds. Government bonds (47.8%), corporate bonds (10%), asset-backed securities (9.6%) and government agency bonds (8.5%) together account for 75.9%. The rest is held as deposits (14.1%) and stocks (10%). Compared with 2024, the share of deposits increased, while the shares of bond and stock investments declined.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it paid 5.4375 trillion won in corporate taxes last year, more than double the previous year's 2.5782 trillion won. After paying corporate taxes, the BOK sets aside 30% as statutory reserves and remits the remainder to the government as revenue. That amount was 10.705 trillion won, the most ever. The money the BOK remitted to the state exceeds the corporate taxes paid last year by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix (8.4 trillion won).
The government books the money remitted by the Bank of Korea (BOK) as non-tax revenue. Part of it could be used to fund a 25 trillion won supplementary budget that the government is preparing.
Under the special law on investment in the United States, which passed the National Assembly on the 12th, part of the revenue from managing the BOK's foreign exchange reserves will be used to fund a $200 billion U.S. investment project. A BOK official said, "The 21 trillion won in securities interest and trading revenue last year could be used as U.S. investment funds," adding, "However, the exact use will be finalized after discussions with the government."