Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
From toys to Tesla: Korean parents turn to stocks for children's gifts
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By Lee Yeon-woo
More parents give children head start in asset building, financial literacy
Gift-giving for kids is often about fun and excitement. But in Korea, some parents are moving away from stuffed animals and game consoles, choosing instead something more practical and prudent: stocks.
2025 marks the seventh year that a 45-year-old office worker surnamed Lee has gifted stocks to his son, who is in elementary school. Each year on his son’s birthday and Children's Day, Lee purchases around 1 million won ($715.72) worth of stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with high dividends.
"My child is only in first grade. I gift him stocks every year, but I’m not sure how much he truly understands," Lee said. "Right now, his attention is all on the Pokemon cards he got from his mother. Still, I hope my small efforts help him when he becomes an adult."
Like Lee, a growing number of parents are purchasing stocks to lay the groundwork for their children’s financial future.
According to six major brokerage firms — Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Samsung Securities, NH Investment & Securities and Toss Securities — the number of accounts held by minors has reached about 1.2 million as of Wednesday.
There is no age restriction on stock trading in Korea. Minors can open a brokerage account with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.
With a long-term perspective in mind, the most common investment choices in these accounts are high-dividend ETFs or those that track indexes like the S&P 500. Well-known domestic stocks like Samsung Electronics are also popular, while Tesla, Nvidia and Apple rank as the top three U.S. stock picks at almost every brokerage firm.
Parents hope their children can understand finance a little earlier than most through these stock investments.
"It’s about parents and children learning about the economic system together," Lee said. "Even if the child doesn’t fully understand what it means right away, telling them they are a shareholder of Tesla, and explaining what those companies do, can have a clear impact on how the child begins to grasp economic concepts."
Traders work at a Hana Bank dealing room in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
This form of asset transfer is also attractive due to its tax benefits. Under current regulations, parents can make tax-free gifts of up to 20 million won to their minor children over a 10-year period.
"Stocks harness the power of compound growth. Stocks worth 20 million won, invested in the year a child is born and growing steadily at 7 percent annually, could grow to 70 million won in 20 years — entirely tax-free," said Shin, a father of a 3-year-old daughter, who also invests in ETFs through her account.
As many parents plant the seeds of financial literacy, interest in investing is also growing among children themselves, especially teenagers.
Last September, the Hana Financial Research Institute reported that the most popular financial product among 500 surveyed middle and high school students was stock investing.
In a survey conducted in January by Samsung Securities among 300 students aged 17 to 19, 43 percent said they already had a stock account in their own name. Looking ahead, 58 percent expressed plans to invest in stocks, while 41 percent preferred savings-based assets.
"Minors rarely begin with large sums, and investments are typically made under parental guidance. That keeps the risk low while providing strong educational value," said Hwang Sei-woon, a senior research fellow at Korea Capital Market Institute. "To prevent potential problems, parents must approach the education with a sound investment philosophy and a solid understanding of the market."
In response, the brokerage industry is going all out to attract these young investors, aiming to turn early financial interest into long-term engagement.
In celebration of this year's Children's Day, Mirae Asset Securities, Samsung Securities and Kiwoom Securities are offering incentives such as gift cards, cash rewards and reduced online trading fees for minors who open their first account remotely. Kiwoom Securities, which holds the largest number of children's accounts, at 520,000, also runs a YouTube channel dedicated to financial education.
"The rise in minor account openings is rapidly lowering the age of entry into the financial market," a brokerage industry official said. "Over the long term, it is expected to play a positive role in building assets."