Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
7 in 10 wealthy Koreans invest in gold: report
Gold products are on display at the Korea Gold Exchange in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
About seven in 10 wealthy Koreans have invested in gold amid the growing popularity of the safe-haven asset, according to a report, Sunday.
According to the 2024 Korea Wealth Report released by KB Financial Group's research institute, 83.2 percent of the 400 respondents with assets of over 1 billion won reported having experience in alternative asset investments.
Gold and jewelry topped the list with 311 respondents, or 77.8 percent.
This was followed by art pieces including paintings (20 percent), virtual assets including bitcoin and ethereum (11 percent), raw materials including oil and copper (8.3 percent), intellectual property and copyrights as well as art pieces (6.5 percent) and unlisted stocks (5.5 percent).
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Of the high-net-worth Koreans with assets over 10 billion won, more than 94 percent said they have holdings in gold and jewelry.
The figure was 81.9 percent for investors with assets between 5 billion and 10 billion won, while it stood at 66.5 percent for those with assets under 5 billion won.
Many preferred safe assets due to their potential for long-term value.
Among the reasons for investing in gold was the limited risk of losing the initial investment, cited by a third of respondents, or 32.9 percent.
Gold bars were the most preferred asset type with 65.1 percent, followed by gold accounts (36.2 percent) and gold funds (26.3 percent).
Meanwhile, leading commercial lenders are halting or limiting sales of gold bars and silver bars.
This was driven by risk-averse investor sentiment due to uncertainties surrounding Trump's tariffs, as evidenced by central banks around the world increasing their gold holdings.
Spot gold hit a year-to-date high of $2,911.30 (4.2 million won) per ounce on Feb. 10 (local time), the seventh latest high this year. Some expect the price will soon exceed $3,000.