As of the end of last year, Korea's net financial worth stood at 1,271 trillion won, down 326 trillion won (-20.4%) from a year earlier. The drop was the largest since statistics began in 2009.
Net financial worth is the amount obtained by subtracting foreigners' holdings of domestic stocks (financial liabilities) from Korean residents' holdings of overseas stocks (financial assets). With the domestic stock market booming last year, the value of domestic stocks held by foreigners surged, leading to a sharp decline in net financial worth.
On the 22nd, the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) released the "2025 national balance sheet (preliminary)." The national balance sheet is a kind of ledger that records national wealth by adding up, as of each year-end, all domestic and overseas assets held by Korea's economic agents, including household, corporations, and government. It has been compiled since 1995 to assess the state of wealth our economy has accumulated so far.
As of the end of last year, net worth—cash, real estate, stocks, and other assets held by Korea's people, corporations, government, and others—was 24,561 trillion won, up 531 trillion won (2.2%) from a year earlier. The increase narrowed from the end of 2024 (5%). The largest share was nonfinancial assets such as real estate, totaling 23,291 trillion won, up 857 trillion won (3.8%) from the previous year.
By contrast, net financial worth, including stocks, fell 326 trillion won (20.4%) to 1,271 trillion won from a year earlier. The decline in net financial worth was the largest since related statistics began in 2009. That was because financial liabilities increased more than financial assets. While financial assets rose 2,794 trillion won (11.4%) to 27,318 trillion won, financial liabilities increased 3,120 trillion won (13.6%) to 26,047 trillion won.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said, "With the KOSPI up 75.6% last year, outperforming the U.S. S&P (16.4%) and Europe's Euro Stoxx 50 (18.3%), the won-denominated increase in domestic stocks held by foreigners exceeded the increase in overseas stocks held by residents."