Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Real estate accounts for more than 80% of richest Koreans' wealth
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By Yi Whan-woo
Richest 1 percent have $4.12 million on average
By Yi Whan-woo
Real estate accounts for more than 80 percent of the wealth owned by Koreans who rank among the richest 1 percent in the country, according to data, Wednesday.
Statistics Korea data showed the wealthiest 1 percent of households in terms of net worth owned 3.28 billion won worth of assets in 2022. The amount was up by 379 million won from a year earlier. Net worth refers to the value of one's assets minus liabilities.
Their liabilities in 2022 averaged 516.6 million won.
Of the 3.28 billion won, 81.4 percent consisted of land, houses, buildings, and other forms of properties.
The ratio of real estate in the asset portfolio of the top 1 percent was higher than that of the average Korean household at 73.7 percent.
Financial assets, meanwhile, accounted for some 16.8 percent of the wealth possessed by the richest 1 percent of households, with cash savings accounting for 84.8 percent of the total financial assets.
Of their financial assets, 60.3 percent was immediately cashable, as compared to 47.9 percent in the rest of the lower income brackets.
Concerning the ideal management of financial assets, 45.8 percent of the top 1 percent picked bank deposits, while 26.5 percent chose direct, individual investments, such as buying stocks and bonds, while another 8.6 percent picked collective investments, such as funds.
Asked whether they are open to purchasing additional properties using their financial assets, 58 percent of the top 1 percent said “yes,” while the remaining 42 percent were against that idea.